Star and Tom
by StarlightGilgalad
Summary: Tom Riddle has a secret. He's being possessed by an evil spirit and is actually a nice guy. With the help of his friend/almost-girlfriend, he gets the opportunity to start a new life. Going to school again is going to be tough. Will the ministry find him? How will the HP gang react? Warning: Major OC character. Starts at the end of fourth year.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fan fic, so please help me out here. If there are any mistakes, then I'm so sorry, I tried to get them all. Anyway, here you go and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter one**

**I have hair!**

He was staring at his hands, again. It was getting harder to remember who he was. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. _Why is it always me?_ But his thoughts were pulled away, almost as if by an otherworldly being; an evil one, with dark thoughts. _Kill, destroy, burn_, it would say over and over, driving him mad. _No! Stop! _He wanted to yell, but his lips wouldn't obey him.

"Master," someone said from the doorway. "Your orders?"

"Yes, bring me the boy, and this time you'd better not fail." The monster paused. "And the girl, Starlight, as well," it added, as an afterthought.

"Yes my Lord," came the reply.

He wanted to scream. _NO!_

* * *

Starlight had snuck out again, heading for the forest. It was dark, and past curfew, but she had found something that needed investigating. Passing the small cabin that belonged to one of the teachers, she slipped into the trees.

The forest was dangerous, as well as the creatures inside. There were a lot of misleading trails, that dead ended into pits, or wild animal dens. But there were also a lot of beautiful things, like an abundance of unicorns. This was what she was investigating, or rather, the lack of unicorns. They seemed to be disappearing. Wondering what was going on, she headed to the glade where the herd usually grazed.

Hearing a rustling noise in the bushes to her left, she turned, unaware that the attack was actually coming from her right. Three shapes loomed up, pitch black against the darkness. There was a flash, and then everything went black.

* * *

The headache wouldn't go away. He knew it was caused by fighting against the thing controlling him, but he couldn't help it. He was sick and tired of it clinging to his soul, or what was left of his soul, as it had been split apart several times. His heart aching, he finally let out his pent up anger.

"My Lord, are you alright?" asked a woman, hearing his scream.

"Yes, no need to worry," replied the monster, taking control again. "Everything is fine."

"Of course," she replied, turning to go. "Sorry to disturb you."

"My Lord!" called a man, walking in. "We have the girl."

The man looked out of breath. _What was his name? L something,_ he thought. Whatever, the dude had really pale blonde hair. "Good, take her to my chambers, I wish to speak with her privately." _More like torture_, he thought, reading thething's mind. Blondie looked disappointed; clearly he had wanted to take part. _Sicko!_ He thought._ But then again, I'm one to talk,_ he shuddered inwardly.

"My Lord," Blondie responded. Bowing, he turned and left, following the woman out.

Sighing, he dragged himself up off the chair in the middle of the room and hurried to his room, before the monster could make him. Dreading what was to come, he pushed the door open. The girl was sitting on his bed, not looking at all scared. "Hello Tom," she said.

He gasped; sitting there in front of him was the only face he remembered, from his past. "Star!" he cried. "But… you… you're - dead!" It all came rushing back to him in spite of the monster, who was going for the upper hand. Taking advantage of its host's confusion, the spirit lunged for the girl forcing Tomto scream the spell. "Avada Kedavra!"

With a great amount of will power, Tom managed to jerk his wand to the side, narrowly missing Starlight, who dodged. His vision starting to blur, Tom gasped out, "Star! Help me!" and blacked out.

* * *

Starlight was breathing heavily, things hadn't changed. That… that – thing was still possessing Tom. She got up and went to him, turning him over onto his back. Boy, did he look hideous! So pale he was almost see-through, with a squashed face, no nose, and snaky red eyes. She sighed remembering how he used to look. Handsome, tall, black hair, light blue eyes… perfect.

Putting her hand on his forehead, she sighed again; he was ice cold. Closing her eyes she imagined his former self and started, feeling something brush her hand. Eyes whipping open, she blinked. Now before her, was Tom exactly as she remembered, probably in his fourth year at school. She gasped, pulling her hand away; he stayed that way for a few seconds, then reverted back to his current deformed state. She experimented, pulling her hand away again and again, but each time the results were the same. It wasn't an illusion though; she could really feel his hair. She smiled; every time she touched him, his face became untroubled, as if the monster inside himfled at her presence.

Stroking his hair, she whispered, "Don't worry I'll protect you."

* * *

Tom woke up to find that his mind was untroubled. The monster was still there, but was unable to do anything besides lurk at the back of his mind and cling desperately to his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw Starlight leaning over him. "Hi," he whispered.

"Well, look who's back, our very own Lord Voldemort, back from his half-life." She smiled.

"I'd really appreciate it, if you didn't call me that." Tom muttered, hating it every time one of _his_ followers addressed him as that or "my Lord"…

"Sorry. So what can I do for you?" She asked, her hands never leaving him.

"Well, you could tell me how you're alive, for starters." He responded, feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Starlight looked him strait in the eyes, and said, "I don't blame you for killing me. It wasn't your fault, and I'm just glad that you're alright."

Tom closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. She brushed something back from his face. Confused, he glanced at a mirror and gasped. He… he was – he was a freaking fourth year! With hair! _Dang!_ He realized, _I've really missed my hair._

"D'arvit!" he exclaimed in wonder, "I have hair!" It was probably the lamest thing he could have said, but Starlight laughed anyway. They stared into each other's eyes. Tom knew it was coming, but was totally surprised when she actually leaned in and kissed him. Suddenly the room was filled with a blinding flash, scorching his eyes, even though they were felt the monster scream, but it no longer had any control.

Starlight pulled away, her eyes glowing blue, sparks cascading down in rivers, targeting his chest. The monster shuddered violently, a scream forcing its way through his lips, but the sparks weren't unpleasant at all. In fact, a feeling of calm had settled over his mind. Tom gasped as something exploded, and realized that it was him. He drifted along through the cosmos, gathering his memories, resolving to be a better person after he was dead. Thinking back, he remembered all of the people he'd killed, silently saying sorry.

His mind had scattered across the universe only to be pulled back with such force, that he slammed into reality with a start. His vision coming back, he saw Starlight lying sprawled on the floor a few feet away. She was still glowing, but most of the sparks were gone. Her eyes closed, she was obviously unconscious, and had a big lump on her forehead, where the remaining sparks were congregating.

Tom sat up, tensing, fully expecting the monster to take the opportunity and finish her off. But that moment never came. He searched his mind, and found no trace of it, as if it had just vanished. Noticing he felt strangely light, he started as Starlight groaned and sat up, rubbing her head where a light bruise was forming. "Hi," he said, scooting towards her.

"Ow," came the reply. "Do I even _want_ to know what happened?"

"I don't know what happened anyway, so…"

"Well, for one, you still look like a fourth year but I'm not touching you…" she stopped at his puzzled expression, "Nevermind. So what's up?"

"Other than me being free of evil spirits, talking to a dead girl, and being public enemy number 1, not much," he paused. "Oh, and did I mention that I'm starving?"

"Well, sorry, I didn't bring any food with me. Why don't you ask your minions?"

"Looking like this, no way!"

"Then shut up." They sat in silence, Tom contemplating his position in life. _I'm a wanted murderer, unwilling, but still a murderer. My "followers" would probably hunt me down to the ends of the earth, if they knew I had a change of heart. And, ILook. Like. A. Freaking. Fourteen year-old! Not exactly the best position to be in._

He sighed, "What am I supposed to do now? I can't just stay here, I'd be found out within a week! And I can't just run away either. For one, there's the ministry, as well as the general population."

"Well… you could always talk to Dumbledore.

* * *

**Ok, so tell me what you think! That's what reviews are for! If you loved it, then great! If you absolutely hated it, then good for you. I've already written the next chapter, but I want to know if you guys want more before I upload it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I had some trouble figuring out how to post this, but here you go! Enjoy the awesomeness!**

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Chapter 2 Tom's secrets

"Professor?" Starlight peeped into his study; luckily he had decided to stay up late tonight.

"Starlight, what a pleasant surprise!" said Professor Dumbledore. "Might I ask what is so important that you're up after curfew for?"

"There's a friend of mine, who needs to talk to you." Judging by his reaction, her face must have looked very serious.

He leaned forwards, "Who is this friend?"

"Oh, just a friend. He's not in school though. Can you meet him at the Shrieking Shack?"

"I don't see why not, when?"

"Um… now?" even she heard the anxiety in her voice.

"Of course, I assume you'll be coming?" Dumbledore stood, walking to the door.

"Of course," Starlight hurried after him. They didn't meet anyone except for Professor Snape, who was on his rounds.

"Good evening, Severus." Dumbledore nodded at him.

"Professor," he responded smoothly, glancing at rounded a corner, and she saw that they were in the hallway leading to the kitchens.

"Oh! I was going to ask you if we could stop here!" she said. He smiled and they proceeded to get a huge basket from three of the house elves, who were all too happy to oblige. The pair was well known among the kitchen staff, especially Starlight, who visited quite often.

Gathering up their food, Starlight glanced around for her favorite elf, Kitty, but was disappointed. "Where's Kitty?"

"Kitty is feeling sick today, Miss Starlight," replied one of their servers.

"Oh, well tell her I say hi, and to get better."

"I'll do it myself, Miss."

"Thank you, Eva."

Eva smiled as they left, Dumbledore taking the lead,heading for the Whomping Willow, the entrance to the Shrieking Shack. _They really need to think of better names for these places. There's too much alliteration_, She thought.

The professor did some spell or other, and the tree stopped thrashing its deadly branches around. They descended into the blackness of the tunnel below, and Starlight whispered, "Lumos," the tip of her wand starting to glow. She would have rather have just started glowing again, it took so little effort; but that would have raised questions she didn't really want to answer.

Coming to the end of the tunnel, she took a deep breath and knocked on the trapdoor, "Hey, you decent?"

* * *

Tom was sitting on a ratty old bed, inside the shack. After Starlight had suggested he speak to Dumbledore, he had apparated them inside the Shrieking Shack, and Starlight had gone off to find Dumbledore.

He frowned, not at the prospect of meeting the professor, he actually liked him, but at how they had gotten into the shack. Supposedly, people had tried to apparate in, but for some unknown reason, they couldn't._ I guess it has to do with Starlight, most spell don't seem to affect her._

Hearing a knock from the trapdoor that lead to the tunnel underneath, he immediately recognized Starlight's voice calling out, "Hey, you decent?" He guessed it was an attempt to lighten the mood.

"No, what do you think?" he called, feeling suddenly nervous. Dumbledore probably wouldn't kill him on sight, but he hadn't seen the guy in like forever…

The door opened, and Starlight pulled herself up into the room, promptly followed by the professor. "Hi," she said. "Miss me?"

Tom glanced at her, smiling, and focused on Dumbledore, who accordingly was staring at him. "Well, Tom Riddle. I never would have guessed. You do look young, now don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. And I have hair!" _Might as well throw that in_, he thought, wanting to judge the other man's reaction.

"You do," he replied, his eyes twinkling. _Well, at least he's in a good mood._

"So what can I do for you, Tom? Starlight says you need my help."

"Um… yeah, you see I've got a problem..."

"And that would be?"

"Well… I guess I've had a change of heart," Tom said, glancing at Starlight again. He wasn't going to explain about him being possessed, at least not yet.

"I see, otherwise, I would probably be dead by now."

"I- well yes, probably." Tom admitted, looking at the ground.

"Or at the very least, you and I would be locked in an epic battle to the death." Dumbledore laughed.

"Yeah…"

"So, you've had a change of heart," mused the professor. "I assume that you are currently hiding from your followers, andthe ministry, hoping to…"

"I don't know! That's the problem!" sighed Tom. "I can't just stay with the Death Eaters; besides the fact that I'd be found out, they'd expect me to give orders, and I… I just can't!" _Not anymore_, he added silently.

Dumbledore looked at him strangely, almost as if he was looking straight through him. "I have a suspicion about you."

"And what would that be?" asked Tom.

Avoiding the question, the older wizard said, "Could you please explain about what happened, and why Starlight seems so concerned about it?"

"Oh, um, that's _complicated_." Tom said slowly, wishing he didn't have to explain.

Almost as if Dumbledore has read his mind, he said, "It might be easier if I take a look at your memories."

Tom thought about it, it would certainly be more accurate than just explaining, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea of someone else seeing all of his secrets.

The professor's gaze softened, "Tom, it's alright. You don't have to say yes."

"No…" Tom said hesitantly. "If you think it can help me, then I want to try, but you probably won't like what you see." _Especially some bits._

The head master laughed, "Don't worry, Tom, I've seen some pretty bad things in my time."

Tom cracked a grin, "Well, you've never seen _me_ in all of my glory."

"No, but I can guess pretty well." His face grew serious, "On the count of three then."

Tom nodded, and Dumbledore began to count. "One… Two… Three… Legilimens!"

* * *

_The world dissolved into hazy memories. Two ladies were talking about worldly issues, and donations for the orphanage. "He's such a good boy, I feel bad about not having a party for him."_

_ "He wouldn't want one anyway, but if it makes you feel better the children can all come to my little Daniel's party tomorrow."_

_ "Thank you, Nelly. It will be good for them to have some fun."_

_ The setting changed, Tom was climbing a tree, his little pudgy toddler legs struggling to reach the next branch. "Tom! Get down from there! You'll fall!" called the caretaker . But he wouldn't fall, if he slipped he would drift gently down until he touched the soft grass still wet from the morning dew. He slowly crawled down into the waiting arms of the lady._

_"Goodness, Tom! How many times have I told you not to climb on things? Now come along. You need to get ready for the party. You don't want to miss the cake do you? Remember Daniel even offered to let you blow out the candles the little dear. Come along!"_

_The children were all fawning over the Daniel's presents, vying for a turn with the new trike or a shot at the little swing set. All except for Tom, who was hiding from the bigger boys. The yard didn't offer much concealment except for a small garden shed. He slipped inside, tears streaming down his didn't mind that he hadn't gotten a party for his birthday or presents; he was content with the small wish from Daniel's cake. Mrs. Nelly had a couple of extra candles she let his use, pity written all over her face._

_He couldn't understand why, but assumed it was because of his mother. He hadn't ever seen his mother, everyone said she was dead. Grownups only mentioned his father in scorning whispers. He wiped the tears from his eyes, stifling a sob. Daniel's mother and father were at the party along with all his aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins; as well as all the children from the orphanage. He, Tom Riddle, had nobody that loved him, no friends and no family. The other children scorned him and called his mother a witch and his father a good for nothing fool. No wonder he had left her, they said._

_Lost in his misery, he hadn't seen the wisp of black mist enter through the window high above him. It drifted down, drinking in his sorrow, surrounding him like a black cloud. "Stop crying." It hissed. Tom started, looking around wildly, but there was nothing there. The air seemed darker, and brought a slight chill. "Stop crying. I can help you. You will be great."_

_Tom didn't want this things help. He didn't want to be great, he just wanted a family. "I can give you this." it hissed. "With me you can pick anyone in the world to be your family."_

But they won't love me_, he thought._ No one does.

"_I do." It hissed. That was a lie and they both knew it._"_And you could _make_them love you."_

_Tom knew this wasn't true. You can't _make _people love you. That wasn't love._

_The thing hissed again. "Embrace me!" it demanded. "You are mine!"_

_"No!" Yelled Tom, but it was too late. The thing had dissolved into his very being, smoke steamed from his pores. The thing smiled, and he did too. There was nothing he could do. It got up and opened the door. Outside the older boys jeered at him. "No! No!" they mimicked, laughing. "What's wrongtommy? Do you miss your mommy?"_

_"Enough!" the thing said quietly. Instantly the boys froze, their eyes darting left and right, expressions of pain on their faces. "You will not interfere with my business." Tom turned and walked away, unable to do anything about the situation. He felt sorry for the boys, they were mean, but they didn't deserve that much pain. He pleaded with the thing inside him to let them go, but it ignored him, heading back to the rest of the group._

_"Tom! There you are! Come have a look at the presents."_

Presents, so childish_,_ _the thing remarked. He made his way over to the group. "There is something wrong with the boys over by the shed," said the thing, feinting innocence. It was appalling the way everyone believed he had no part in it. They all knew he was a trouble maker, just friendly childish pranks, but to the satisfaction of everyone involved he never got off the hook, even if the punishments were hardly worthy of the name._

"_Of course Tom, let's go see." There must have been something in his eyes; by the way she looked at him she was truly frightened. _Sorry Mrs. Cole_, Tom thought hopelessly. _I can't help it!

_They found the boys just as Tom had left them, expressions of pain and terror on their faces. "Danny! Eric! Frank! What's wrong?"_

_No one moved, except for Tom. He made a slight movement with his hand unnoticed to all, but the boys. They stiffened, eyes bulging, and let out a scream as one. Then they fell to the ground and didn't move again._

No!_Tom screamed in his head. But it was too late, they were already dead._

_The world changed and Tom, under the force of the thing, held a reign of terror over the orphanage and the surrounding area. People let him do as he wished; they were practically powerless to stop him._

_There was Tom slamming a girl against the wall. Tom, stealing people's most treasured and secretly hidden objects, just because he could. Tom, standing on a cliff, dangling a small boy over by his shirt; Tom, leading a boy and girl into a cave, never to return; Tom, talking to Dumbledore for the first time; Tom getting his wand from Ollivander's._

_The world solidified. He was on the Hogwarts Express, looking for an empty compartment. He finally settled for one, and sat across from a girl with black hair and black eyes, and black clothes. She glanced at him and looked out the window, clearly not interested. The thing was board and wanted to terrorize someone. Tom frowned, wishing he could close his eyes. By now he had learned that if the thing wanted something, no amount of pleading or resistance would stop it._

_"So, you at first year?" he sneered. She didn't respond. "Cause you sure look scrawny enough."_

_She didn't even glance at him. "Where are you from? The trash can?" he tried to will her to respond. The sooner he beat her up, the sooner it would be over. "You're obviously a muggleborn." _

_"I believe the term you're looking for is Mudblood. And I fall into neither of those categories. I'm a halfblood, like you," she finally responded, never taking her eyes off the horizon._

Why won't she get upset?_The thing thought furiously. Most people would fly into a rage or start crying, but then again she was odd, dressed as she was. It paused, "Why do you think I'm a halfblood?"_

_"You didn't know the term Mudblood, but you also didn't know enough pureblooded insults to be anything other than a halfblood. You were brought up by muggles I presume?"_

_"I'm an orphan." Tom responded, amazed that he had actually managed to say that. He smiled, realizing that the thing didn't have a good recovery story. It sat back and watched things play out, ready to add the "necessary" insult or action to get the conversation going the way it liked._

_"You'll be in Slytherin, definitely," she said changing the subject._

_"I'm going for Gryffindor," he managed, but knew it was hopeless. With his passenger, the only place he could go would be Slytherin._

_"Hmm. Well, maybe you might have a chance." She reflected, "But then again, probably not." She glanced at him, taking him in. "My name's Starlight."_

_"Tom," he returned, but was forced to add. "But most people call me Voldemort." He silently cursed the thing, he didn't like that name._

_"Why? It rhymes with moldy shorts."_

_"Oh, um…" Tom knew the thing was at a loss. Obviously it hadn't thought of that. "Well, as a matter of fact, I don't like it in the first place, anyway. As you pointed out, it's stupid."_

_"Then why did you want me to call you that?" she asked puzzled._

_"I… I can't tell you." He stated, as a feeling of loneliness settled on his mind, and he visibly deflated._

_"That's ok, I think I know what it is." She replied mysteriously, gazing at him with her black eyes._

"_You do?" _You do?!_Yelled the thing, but it still hadn't taken control yet._

_"Yes." She turned away to look out the window again._

_"What is it?"_

_She didn't answer._

_"What is it? Please I need to know if you actually know what is wrong with me!" Tom was practically screaming now. The desire to be understood had never been so strong. The thing took the lead, firing a hex he had learned over the summer. She turned and looked at him, not affected what so ever._

_"You need to work on that." There was a knock at the door and a lady called out, "Anything from the trolley dears?"_

_Starlight opened the door, "Yes, I need to stock up, ten of everything please. And can you double the chocolate frogs?"_

_Tom looked at her amazed. She didn't look like she had enough money to buy all of that stuff, but she handed over the money without reserve. "You want anything?" she asked, glancing at him._

_"I don't take charity." He frowned, glaring at her._

_"Suit yourself." She replied, gathering up her loot, and thanked the lady. She stuck it all in her pocket, and Tom did a double take. What the-?_

_"Expansion charm," she explained, stuffing the last of it in. "You sure you don't want anything?"_

_"No." He scowled, unprepared for the frog she threw at him. It hit him in the face, and he fumbled to catch it, dropping it on the floor. That was a direct assault from her, and the thing leapt to control, blasting a nasty jinx at her. It still had no effect other than to make to laugh._

_"You do have anger issues, don't you?"_

_"No."_

_She looked at him and smiled. "I suppose you're wondering why nothing is working." He nodded dumbfounded. "It's because I have something protecting me. If you look closely you can see a slight shimmer."_

_Tom did so, noting that it pulsed in rhythmic beats, almost as if it was alive. She leaned over and touched his hand. The thing hissed and retreated._

_"You can trust me," she said staring straight into his very soul. "Can I trust you?"_

_The scene changed again, the nervous first years were standing in a clump at the front of the hall._

_"Riddle, Tom." His name was called. He nervously walked up to the stool and sat, as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head._

Hmm, strange indeed, _it said. _Very loyal to your friends, you have a great interest in learning, very smart and talented. And brave, you must be brave to still have your sanity.

_It was talking about the thing, which was uncharacteristically silent. _Hmm… with your… passenger, you would be better suited for Slytherin.

Can you get rid of it? _Tom thought hopelessly._

No, but you will be rid of it before you die. I suppose it must be…

_"Slytherin!" the hat shouted, much to Tom's dismay. He took his seat among his fellow housemates, among the applause._

_He glanced up as "Ruin, Starlight!" was called._

_His friend form the train, made her was up to the front almost with practiced ease. His friend! The hat chuckled as if she had made a joke, and called, "Gryffindor!"_

_Immediately she jumped up, but didn't leave the dais. She eyed the crowd and smiled as everyone let out a gasp. Her hair had turned a brilliant red, as her eyes transformed into an almost liquid gold. She bounced over to her respective table, all of whom were staring with open mouths. Apparently it wasn't very common to suddenly change your appearance to match your house colors, or to change your appearance in general._

_"Shut your mouths and listen to Professor Dumbledore!" she proclaimed and winked at the headmaster._

_"I quite agree, Miss Ruin. Let the eating begin!" Immediately huge plates of food appeared on the table and the students proceeded to grab anything with in reach. Surprisingly Starlight wasn't the only center of conversation, although she was a large part. No one knew what to make of her, including Tom, but one thing was for certain; she was very attractive. Even at eleven years old, she was stunning. Tom suspected she had done it intentionally, and had no doubt that she could handle herself. Trying not to stare, he avoided glancing in her direction all night. Unfortunately not everyone did. Some of the older boys were eyeing her wistfully, while the fourth years and under obviously hoped she was interested in dating._

_As soon as dinner was over, Tom followed his perfect to the dorms, and fell asleep almost instantly; almost because of the other boys who were, despite being tired, still discussing at certain girl. He sighed and cast a silencing charm at his curtains and closed his eyes._

* * *

_**So review and what not! And more on Tom's memories next time, hopefully sometime this week!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey peeps, sorry for the long wait, that's all I'm going to say. No excuses. Also I remembered that I forgot to put in a disclaimer. If you think I own harry potter you are sadly mistaken! I only own the plot and OC characters. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

_All throughout the year Tom had troubles. You wouldn't think it, by the way his life was going, he was top of his class, tons of followers and fans, and all of the teachers liked him. But unknown to all, he had a passionate, yet embarrassing crush on that strange girl. Luckily though, the strange spirit he had named 'the thing' left him alone most of the time; only lending a helping 'hand' when it thought the situation needed it._

_ Only one incident stood out in Tom's memories of his first year. The girl Starlight been asked out a grand total of 37 times and was quite annoyed. She was sitting under a tree by the lakesilently steaming, there was literally steam coming out of her pores. As Tom approached she turned, her expression lifting when she saw him._

_ "Hi," he stated lamely, sitting down. "So…"_

_ "So goodbye," she replied. Tom laughed; it was her standard reply to any boy who said it._

_ "You've been asked out again?!" he exclaimed, faking complete shock as if anyone would ask her out._

_ "Yup, this guy mobbed me on my way to lunch. He was a fourth year, and obviously thought he had a chance."_

_ "And what did he say?" Tom asked. It was always amusing when an older boy tried her hook up with her._

_"Well, I was just sitting down when this Ravenclaw moron marched up to me and said, 'So…' in a very suggestive way. I, of course, replied 'So goodbye!' Apparently, he either didn't get the memo or he couldn't back down in front of his friends."_

_"Then what did you do?" asked Tom, waiting for the inevitably best part._

_"I stood up, told him to try someone else and walked off."_

_"No! Really? That's not interesting! Come on, I know you did something awesome! It's you were talking about!" Tom protested._

_Starlight smiled mischievously, "You're right. But I did walk off."_

_Tom glared at her. "Well! Tell me!"_

_"Fine. I stood up, got on the table, and proclaimed for all to hear, 'Hello, most of you know me as Starlight, and all of you girls are terrible jealous of me, and all you boys are dying to go on a date with me. Well, how about this? I am eleven years old and couldn't care less about how I look or about boys. And I think you should all know that boys are nasty and vile things, with the misfortune of not being a girl; no offence to you decent guys. So, in an effort to end all potential incidences involving the embarrassment of those hopeful males, I will personally hex anyone, girls included, that approaches me on the subject of dating, potential hook ups, or advise to the related subject of dating.' Then I took a breath and had to hex the guy to prove my point."_

_"Yup, that sounds like something you would do." Tom confirmed, grinning. "What did you hex him with?"_

_Starlight paused and had the decency to look shameful. "The one that makes you look like an extremely hot girl."_

_"Oh… that one."_

"_Yup. _That _one."_

_Tom looked at her, and she blushed. "I had to make a point!" she protested. "They just won't leave me alone!"_

_Tom look out over the lake, reflecting. The thing sensed that she could be useful seeing as she went through with her threats, but Tom really didn't want to have to hurt her._

_"Starlight, I… I have to go." And hopefully avoid trying to recruit you and you refusing and then… He didn't finish the thought._

_"Tom," Starlight paused, thinking. "Can you do something for me?"_

_"What?"_

_"Can you say 'Starlight you are the greatest and I will do whatever you say no matter what'?"_

_"Um…" the thing was enraged, no one could tell it what to do, NO ONE! "No, why?"_

_"Just say it please." Her normally bright expression was serious and contemplative._

_"I… No, I'm sorry. I can't." Tom stuttered, eyes downcast._

_Starlight took his hand, and looked him in the eyes. Her gaze was deep and intense, and it stripped him to his soul. He could feel the heat of her barely suppressed anger at various things including him, and it scared him. She seemed thousands of years old, yet young and full of life. The thing fidgeted as if it was under her scrutiny as well._

_Her eyes flashed and blue sparks flew into the air surrounding them. The thing shied away from them, almost hissing. "Starlight!"_

_Tom blinked; one of starlight's friends was standing against the tree watching them. She walked towards them, a huge grin on her face. "So, am I seeing sparks or what?"_

_Starlight glared at her, "I was in the middle to something here!"_

_"Well sorry! Just thought saw a little something going on there."_

_"Go away, Neka!"_

_"Fine, fine! But I expect you to spill later." Neka walked off, her long half up hair bouncing behind her._

_"Well… that was… interesting," said Tom, referring to both the sparks and Neka's comments._

_Starlight glanced at him her face an almost imperceptible tint of red. "Yeah, well I… know what's wrong with you now."_

_"What?" asked Tom, the thing getting nervous. It hadn't liked the sparks or the fact that Starlight seemed immune to its attempts._

_Neka called for Starlight about boy, and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I have to see what she wants."_

_"Yeah, that's okay," he replied feeling bummed. "See you later."_

_"Bye." She walked off to join her friend and Tom was left alone, wondering what exactly had been with the sparks._

* * *

Dumbledore sighed, and Tom's memories stopped. The professor was staring at him with twinkling blue eyes. "Well, you _did_ have a lot of interesting things happen."

"Um, yeah. Aren't you going to look at the other ones too?"

"No, what I saw will suffice for now. Perhaps later we can continue," he said, and stood up. "Now I must be going, and you're well come to stay in the room of requirement, if you wish. I don't think you would want to stay here." He gestured to the small shabby room. It was plainly the very definition of the word shack.

"You sure I won't get in trouble or something?" Tom asked a little bit unsure.

"Of course you will be perfectly safe, and all of the students and well as most of the teachers have already left for the break."

"Ok, if you think it's a good idea."

"I do." Dumbledore responded. He climbed back down into the tunnel.

"So…" he started.

"So goodbye!" Starlight interjected, laughing. "You should have seen that coming!"

Tom cracked a smile, "Yup, you're the same old you!"

She grinned, "This is going to be a fun summer!"

* * *

Severus Snape had been called to a meeting. This particular meeting was secret and was comprised mostly of Voldemort's followers. Actually it was entirely made up of Death Eaters, seeing as the subject of discussion was the disappearance of a certain dark lord.

Upon his return to Hogwarts, he was called to yet another meeting with the headmaster. Severus sighed, _why couldn't these things wait until morning? _Never the less, he made his way the office, almost yelling the password, "Fun Dip!" at the stone gargoyle, before ascending the stairs. He arrived at the top, annoyed and wanting answers.

"Ah, Severus, please sit down." The professor was sitting at his desk, hands clasped together. Clearly he had been waiting for Severus. "I assume you have questions that are in need of answers."

"Yes," said Severus, his cold demeanor not forgiving in the slightest. "I want to know what the whole deal is with the Dark Lord vanishing. The Death Eaters seem to think that he has gone away on unexpected business, taking Starlight with him. I, however, have just seen Starlight five minutes ago upon my return. What is going on?" he let the question hang for a moment before adding, "And where is the Dark Lord?"

"Ah," Dumbledore paused; he tended to use that word a lot. "Now we come to the matter of consequence I wished to discuss. I had hoped that Starlight would have shown a certain guest to his quarters by now. Hopefully she has done so now-"

"You mean to say that the Dark Lord is… HERE?!" Severus interrupted incredulously.

"No, Severus. Tom Riddle is here. The man you call the Dark Lord is no more. Apparently he has had a change of heart." Dumbledore stated mildly.

"But… that… No! You don't know him Albus! It is just not possible for a man that dark to change! How could you have let him in here?! That's just insane!"

"I agree that his past records are against him, but never the less, he is changed. I had a suspicion about him that has been confirmed. Tom Riddle, previously known as Voldemort has been possessed by an evil spirit. Its kind I am not sure of, but with more information I can most likely make a conclusion."

Severus faltered, "Possessed?"

"Yes, since his third birthday. I imagine that was the worst birthday in history." The headmaster chuckled slightly. "As of now, Tom Riddle will be living here at Hogwarts over the summer until a decision can be made about him. Also…" he paused, letting Severus get a chance to steam.

"Also?" he questioned, his voice hard, not at all liking the idea of the world's most dangerous man living at a school full of children. Well, maybe not full; it was after all, summer vacation.

"Also, he looks like… he just finished fourth year."

"He- WHAT? FOURTH YEAR?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? REALLY?! WHAT… WHY?" Severus was practically screaming now, something he never, _ever_ did in front of people.

"So-" Dumbledore was interrupted by an enthusiastic "So goodbye!" from Starlight who had just entered the room. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, I was just explaining why Tom is staying here for the summer."

"Oh, well are you done yet?"

"Severus? Are we done yet?"

"I- we… Yes." He replied regaining him usual cool. "I would like more information, but what I have heard will suffice for the moment."

"Perfect, now what did you want Starlight?" The headmaster leaned on his elbows looking quite like a fourth year himself. "Is everything alright with our guest?"

"What?" she said distractedly. "Oh- yes, sorry I was just thinking; after everyone has gone home for the summer, can Tom join me in the Slytherin dorms?"

"I don't see why not, as long as you don't share a room."He chuckled while Starlight looked indignant.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. Her face changed to a mischievous grin, "That would have to wait until seventh year."

"Starlight!" Professor Snape admonished.

"I was just kidding, Sevi! Anyway, we're both older than you so ha!"

"So you'd voluntarily sleep with sixty year old man?!"

"What?! No that would be disgusting no matter how old either of us were!" Starlight had a horrified expression on her face. _Good, she shouldn't be thinking about that. _Severus paused thinking, _but then again she is technically an adult. So…_

"So goodbye!"

"I- wait what?" he stuttered, after being yanked from his thoughts.

"You had this look on your face." She explained, adding, "I'm pretty sure no one would want to be with someone older than 1,000." She shrugged laughing.

"You… never mind." He attempted to change the subject, addressing Dumbledore. "Do I still report to," he hesitated, "Tom Riddle?"

"Oh, no. I'm not even sure if he would let you."

"Then just keep up appearances with the Death Eaters."

"Yes, I think that would be appropriate." The head master stated. "If that is all you two, I have some business I'd like to attend to."

"Of course. Good night Albus." Severus turned and left going down the spiral stairs. He sighed, rubbing his head. Nights like this were the worst with back to back meetings, too much stress, and no chance of going to bed until well after one in the morning. He smiled remembering a saying one of his friendsused to say, "Too much information can make your brain choke." _Well, my brain is certainly choking, _he thought.

At the bottom of the stairs he came face to face with a young boy with black hair and blue eyes, staring at him. "Uh, hi… Severus."

"Oh, um, hi. Tom?" Severus replied astonished, up until now he hadn't really believed that Tom was actually at Hogwarts. "Wow, um, so, just wow."

Tom cracked a smile. "So goodbye? You must be tired, lots of meetings and stuff. It was nice seeing you," he ended lamely.

"Uh, yeah… good night."

"Good night!" Tom replied as the stairs came down again and Starlight stepped off.

"Good news!" she proclaimed, "You can stay in the Slytherin dorms for the summer. I'd give you a tour, but you already know your way around." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Night Sevi!"

They left the hallway leaving Severus with mixed feelings of outrage, terror, confusion, and a strange urge to laugh. He managed to hold it in until he reached his office, then burst out laughing, falling to the ground and clutching his sides. After he had exhausted himself, he changed into his night clothes and slipped into bed.

_That was the most interesting I've ever had_, he thought and fell asleep.

* * *

Tom led the way though the entrance and into the common room, after Starlight had said the password, "Bubble guppies!" she had explained that she got to choose the password for the summer and thought it would be hilarious to hear a Slytherin saying the name of a muggle TV show. She had also said that it was for five-year-olds and under. Tom had laughed and suggested to the picture guarding the entrance that he should keep that password for the next year as well.

Going down the stairs, he headed to his old room, not bothering to check the name plates on the door. He flopped down on his old bed and Starlight burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Oh! Nothing! Only that that bed currently belongs to Draco Malfoy!" she managed to shriek, sitting on the next bed to regain her balance.

"Malfoy?! Awesome! I wish that you could tell him it used to be mine!" he grinned, joining in with Starlight's uncontrollable laughter.

"Yeah," she said when they had finally calmed down. "You never know, I might just drop the hint net time he's surrounded by a gossipy group of people."

"If he's anything like his dad, he definitely deserves it." Tom glowered. "Did you know that when they brought you in, he looked so disappointed to miss out on the chance to hurtyou?"

The way Tom said it made Starlight stop. His voice had no trace of the evil menace it once had; instead it held a deep running affection, gently letting go of the words as if they could hurt her. She stared at him, her eyes wide.

"What?" he asked then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Star, what's wrong?" Concern was written all across his face. He had only ever called her Star once, when he had been forced to kill her.

* * *

_She was running, her hair streaming behind her. She dove behind a tree just in time to avoid a curse. It hit the tree with a shattering force, shaking it to the roots. She peeked out from behind her refuge, and saw Tom standing five feet away. His eyes held a wild light of rage, but also that of terror._

_"Run Star! Run!" the thing was using all its willpower to keep its hold over Tom, and didn't waste any on his ability to speak. "Star! Please, run!" his eyes widened at something behind her, and she felt her arms being pinned behind her back._

_She struggled, but it was useless, the Death Eater's hold was too tight. Tom's eyes were pleading with her to do something, anything! But the situation was out of her control. He screamed and pointed his wand at her. "Avada K-"_

_Starlight launched herself from her body, but not quite fast enough. The tail end of the spell hit her departing soul and spun her around in the air, threatening to send her into oblivion. It took all her will power and magic to hold together, long enough to sink back into her body._

_She sat up and let out a pent up scream, echoing around the wood, but there was no one around to hear. Her magic was depleted and energy spent. Starlight barely had the time to curl into a ball before she lost consciousness._

* * *

"Star! What's wrong are you okay?" Tom's voice jerked her back from her memories. He had moved to sit next to her, and was shaking her shoulders gently.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said distractedly. Glancing into his eyes, she saw them shining with light and warmth, and maybe, just maybe, something more.

He took her hands and held them together, stopping them from shaking. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she whispered, staring into his entrancing blue she leaned forward and _Damn these hormones! _She blinked and pulled away, only to be stopped by Tom.

"Star," he whispered, pulling her in. "Stop thinking." They were close, closer then she had ever been to anyone. She had promised never to get attached to someone because she always out lasted them. They would always die and move on to paradise without her. It was infuriating, but broke her heart every time.

"Stop thinking," he whispered again and bridged the gap between them. His lips were soft against hers and applied the lightest pressure.

He sighed, his breath cool and warm at once, softly tickling the corners of her mouth. She leaned into him, letting him support her, deepening the kiss. In spite the dizziness she was feeling, she kept her mouth firmly closed, and he respected her boundaries. She knew he would try to break down her barriers eventually, but she was determined not to let him.

She sighed and they broke apart; opening her eyes, that she hadn't realized were closed, she let him hold her tight. She loved the feeling of safety and security that he brought; she had had to rely on her own abilities ever since she could remember. It was a relief to finally have someone else to lean on, metaphorically and literally, seeing as she was still settled inside his arms.

"Star," he whispered, not wanting to break the moment. "I love you." He buried his face into her soft curls, nuzzling her cheek. Her heart skipped a beat. He loved her. He _loved_ her! She pulled him tighter, her arms wrapped around his chest. "I… I love you too." There! She had said it. She put all her emotions, memories, and thoughts, into those simple words and fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

**Ha! What do you think of that? No seriously! Review if you like Nice Tom! More awesomeness next time! As well as more fun! **


	4. Chapter 4

**So... Chapter 4! That was quick wasn't it? Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Tom looked at the sleeping girl in his arms and smiled. He had overheard all that was said in Dumbledore's office, curtsey of some Extendable Ears Starlight had gotten from "The Twins," as she called them.

Sighing, he gently picked her up and took her to her room. He had no idea which room was hers and how he would get down the stairs to the girls dorms, but luckily the magic sensed he was only here to help, and didn't kick him out. He quickly located her room thanks to the name plates by the door, and placed her on the bed.

He stared at her for a second before the magic kicked in and he was bodily thrown out into the hallway. Picking himself up, he ran up the stairs before he could be subjected to the horrors of the girls' dorms, of which he had heard terrifying stories about. Getting to the last step he sighed with relief, _It missed me!_ But he had spoken too soon.

A gallon of green slime came cascading down as he stood on the top step catching his breath, and he was splattered head to toe in vile smelling gunk. A note fluttered down, and he caught it, reading:

_You thought you could get away unscathed did you? Well here's a little present from me to you! –Starlight the Amazing. PS, Try washing that stuff off!_

Tom groaned, of course it was her fault. He had seen her permanent dye charm used before, and the results were not a pretty sight. At least one or two boys could usually be seen walking around stained green until Starlight decided to take pity on him, and un-dye him.

Of course, these boys were in Gryffindor, seeing as that was her house at the time, but obviously she had continued the tradition. The girls' dorms had their own defense systems, but she liked adding something extra, like green slime. Tom sighed and headed to the showers, knowing that the color wouldn't come off, even if the slime would.

As he settled into bed, thoroughly green, he smiled. "Today wasn't actually all that bad," he remarked. In fact it was the best day he had had in a long time.

* * *

All thought out the summer, after the teachers had gone home, Starlight and Tom continued to live at the school. Even the Librarian, Mrs. Pince, had gone on "an expedition to gather more books for this pitiful excuse of a library." Either way, she certainly took a long time saying good bye to her treasured books.

The last to leave had been Processor Snape. Even Dumbledore had slipped away for a quite vacation away from the castle. Before Snape had left he had warned Starlight to be careful. "I for one don't believe he has really changed," he told her. "Whatever the case, you need to keep an eye on him." She intended to, though not the way Snape was thinking.

She had a planned a summer neither of them would ever forget. It was mostly small stuff, pranks on Peeves and the ghosts, messing with the students' beds, and exploring the castle. Her priority though, included a huge amount of time spent in the Room of Requirement, or as she called it, the R&R. She had decided to teach Tom the basics of fighting- Starlight style.

Tom had protested at first, but soon saw the reason. "You may know how to fight, but do you know any healing spells or defensive maneuvers? And do you know how to look while fighting?" she had said.

They were currently working on the last point, how to look good. Tom thought this was completely unnecessary, but was amazed to find that it was also very affective and used the time between shots to your advantage. He watched as she demonstrated, firing spells as various animated dummies dressed, ironically enough, as Death Eaters.

As she twisted and turned, occasionally flipping through the air, Tom sat amazed at the time and effort she must have put into perfecting her moves. He watched as she suddenly stopped and said, "You know this looks awesome and everything, but just wait until I show you the best part!" He smiled, when Starlight said something was the best part it was truly _THE BEST PART!_

She turned and walked over to a stereo system that had magically appeared. "Pick a song," she demanded. Over the summer she had educated Tom on the marvels of the modern entertainment system, including all types of music. "Preferably a fast beat," she added.

"Um… What was that one in Japanese? Melt something."

"The vocaloid song?"

"Yeah, Meltdown?"

"Oh, that one. Good choice. That's a hard one." She frowned, "It's like five minutes long, but okay, I'll give it a try." She hit play and walked back into the small circular arena where the dummies were waiting. The music started and the dummies started into motion, randomly firing stunning spells at her. Tom watched as she closed her eyes, listening to the music and the sound the spell made as it left their wands. Starlight immediately started to dodge, swaying only the tinniest bit in order to avoid the spells as they came rushing past. When the beat changed, the dummies became more aggressive, surrounding her and raining a torrent of spells at her.

The air was literally filled with them as she tried to twist out of the way. Amazingly, not one hit her, as she had started to flip into the air, twisting her body to unbelievable angles. She fired various spells and curses at the dummies, shredding them to pieces, while still dodging their attempts to stun her. A sneaky shot got past her defenses, and her wand was ripped from her hand, flying out of the circle. She never even paused in the movements, now firing magic out of her hands.

Tom had never seen anyone perform wandless magic to such an extent, or under so much pressure. As the last of the "Death Eaters" fell to the ground and the music came to an end, Starlight bowed, out of breath. "And _that's_ how it's done!" she proclaimed, collapsing onto one of the couches off to the side to the arena. "You want to give it a go?"

Tom stared at her with unconcealed admiration. "How did you do that?!"

"Easy, I had over a thousand years to perfect this," she explained. "Now, I'm not expecting you to be able to _that_, but I'd like you to at least be able to dodge adequately, and with style."

Tom looked at with a daunted expression. "You really think I have time to learn to do that before school starts?" School was staring in two weeks and the teachers had already started to return.

"Of course not!" Starlight exclaimed. "You're going to have all year!"

"What?" Tom asked, confused. "But Dumbledore said he could find a place for me to stay before school starts."

"Sure he did! But I have a better idea! I'll use some of my signature magic on you and give you a new look, we'll go buy the stuff for school, and you can join me in classes," she said triumphantly. "You'll be an exchange student from the U.S.!"

"Um, I'm not sure that's going to work, and I don't really want to risk it. You know the ministry is sending that horrible woman to keep an eye on Dumbledore. Bridge something rather isn't it?"

"Um from Umbridge," she laughed.

"Yes! Her… if there was absolutely nothing wrong with her, she'd still be terrible with her excessive pinkness!" Tom stated, trying to frown. "I just don't think it's a good idea, that woman had the ears of an elephant when it comes to trouble."

"Uhh! Why did you have to give me that mental image? A pink Elephant trying to smile and be sneaky." Starlight grimaced, "Not a pleasant picture!"

Tom laughed, "You're right, sorry."

"But anyway," she forged on. "No one will recognize you! All the people you went to school with aren't here anymore and all the Death Eaters who could possibly make a connection are preoccupied at the moment, looking for you and terrorizing the general population."

"Have you asked Dumbledore yet?"

* * *

Starlight and Tom were waiting outside the Headmaster's office. "So have you thought of any good names yet?" she asked him.

"No, you?"

"How about Dare? It's what I used to call you occasionally." She suggested.

"Hmm, that's good, last name?"

"Uh, not Gilgalad, that's what I'm using now. What about Ruin?"

"What? No! I don't want to be related to you!"

"Oh, come on Tom! No one remembers that name, it was two cycles ago!" Starlight did this thing where she would go to school, graduate, hang around for a bit, then start over. Tom wasn't sure exactly how she did it, but she had told him that, sometimes she would de-age herself into a baby, and get adopted into a family. Other times she would just start over as an eleven-year-old, and go to Hogwarts again pretending to be from a muggle family. She called this whole process a "cycle."

"The most infuriating thing about doing this is surprisingly not going the puberty hundreds of times, but being a baby and remembering everything I've already done!" she had said. Tom had just decided to accept it and not worry about it. One of the strange but true things about her was that she had never actually been physically older than 26. When he had asked her about it, she had simple said, "After I graduate, I just hang around until all the people I went to school with have left. I'm 18 after I leave the school, then I still have to wait for the people that were in first year when I was in seventh year to leave, which is seven more years. Wait an extra year just to be sure, and then I start another cycle."

Tom was pulled out of his thoughts when Starlight poked him. He looked up and saw Professor Snape walking out of the office. "What are you two doing here?" he asked, glancing nervously at Tom.

"We want to talk to Dumbledore about where I will be staying during the school year," replied Tom and they parted ways, the two walking into the office, and Snape heading to the stairs, satisfied with his answer. _Well, it was the truth_, the thought.

The Headmaster was sitting at his desk shuffling through various papers. He looked up as they entered his office, and smiled. "What brings you here today?" he asked.

"Well, we were wondering if Tom could stay here this year and go to school again." Starlight answered. "I already have all of the information we would need. He could be an exchange student from America named Dare Ruin. He's from a muggle family and wanted to get some experience with European Wizards. I'm sure the sorting Hat wouldn't mind sorting him again, seeing as it sorts me every twentyish years or so. Please, please!" she begged.

"He would need to wear quite a lot of glamors, as well as being careful of the ministry officials," responded the professor. "But all in all I think it is a good idea."

"Really?" the two experienced children shouted. Starlight adding, "And don't worry, I have the glamor problem covered." She put her hand on Tom's shoulder and his skin got a few shades darker, turning to a healthy tan. His hair lengthened and turned from black to a medium brown, and his eyes changed to a brilliant dark blue, so much brighter than the previous light blue almost gray color.

Professor Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Yes, I believe that disguise will work just fine. Be sure to give me a copy of all the details related to Dare."

"Yes sir!" she replied and added, "When should we go school shopping? School starts in less than two weeks!"

"I believe now would be an appropriate time, if you have nothing better to be doing." He suggested, gesturing to his fire place. "Do you need anyone to accompany you?"

Starlight looked at Tom, _Dare_, she reminded herself, and he shrugged. "I think we're good."

"All right then," she went ahead and grabbed some floo powder. "Diagon Alley!" she shouted and disappeared in a rush of flames.

Tom or Dare as he was now called smiled at the Headmaster. "Thanks for giving me a second chance," he said simply.

"Of course."

Dare walked over to the fireplace, "Diagon Alley!" and was gone. Dumbledore chuckled and went back to his papers.

* * *

As Dare stepped out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, Starlight was waiting for him. "What took you so long?" she demanded. "I've been waiting here for, let me see. Wow, like three minutes!"

He smiled at her, "Nice to know someone cares!"

She stuck out her tongue, "Come on!" They ducked out into the space behind the pub, and Starlight taped the correct sequence of bricks. They hurried though the gateway, and into the midafternoon sun among the throng of shoppers. "Where to first?" she asked.

"Well, I definitely need new robes, and that could take a while." Dare looked down the alley at the various shops. "This place has changed a lot since the last time I was here."

"Yup, now come on! We have some shopping to do." They hit the shops in order, nearest one first. After Dare had gotten his robes, Starlight was doing the paying so there was no need to stop at Gringotts, they gathered the rest of their supplies. Dare got a jet black owl he named Shut-Up, Starlight's suggestion, as he just wouldn't stop making noise. Finally they stopped at Ollivander's to get Dare's new wand.

As they walked into the shop, they were greeted by the sound of boxes falling down. Ollivander popped up from behind the counter. "Ah, Starlight in for another stick?"

"Not me this time, Olli. My friend here is in need. He's an exchange student from America," she replied, gesturing to Dare. "His name's Dare."

Ollivander stared at him, "Well, well. If it isn't Tom Riddle, I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yes sir, how did you know it was me?" Dare wasn't overly concerned, about Ollivander calling the ministry. He was rather good at keeping secrets.

"Thirteen and one half inches, yew, Phoenix feather core, twin of the famous Harry Potter's wand, yes, I remember it like it was yesterday," he replied. "And don't worry, I won't call the ministry. Normally I would, but since you came with Starlight, I think you're trust worthy."

"Uh, thanks I think. What did you mean by 'stick' sir?" Dare asked, confused. "Don't you always make people say 'wand'?"

"Yes, if their talking about a wand. Starlight here doesn't use a wand. None of them fit her, so she uses an empty stick. It looks the same as a wand, but doesn't have a magical core," he explained.

"That's right," confirmed the owner of said stick. "I guess I just use my own magic, that's why I can still do spells and stuff without it."

Tom looked impressed. "That must take a lot of effort!"

"No not really," she said. "I think it has to do with my… situation."

"Oh." Ollivander handed Dare a wand and he expertly flicked it. Nothing happened.

"Yeah, so how many tries do you think this will take?" she asked, as he swished another wand. Nothing.

"Don't know." A swipe, nothing. Slash, nothing. Poke, nope. Circle, nada. Wave, zilch.

"Well, I'm going to get some ice cream, if you get done before I get back, you know where to find me." Twirl, nothing.

"Okay." Thrust, no. Dare continued to experiment with different wands, but to no avail. He was nearing the end of Olivander's stock, and was getting quite frustrated. He tried to channel his anger into the wands but still nothing happened, it was almost as if he was waving around a stick. _A stick! That's it!_ He thought. "Ollivander? Could I try one of the sticks you keep for Starlight?"

"Ah, I was starting to wonder. Let's see, no, no, no, yes! Go ahead and try this."

Dare took the dark piece of wood and waved it, but nothing happened. He growled in frustration and jabbed it at the wall, a hole was blasted through it, and the pieces bombarded an unfortunate Starlight, bearing two ice cream cones. "Hey watch it!" she shouted, waving her arms at the decimated wall. The pieces flew back together and the wall was solid again. "I guess you've found a wand?"

"No," Dare said, a little astonished. "It's a stick."

"Well, look at that!" she exclaimed and forgot all about the ice cream as it dropped to the floor. She jumped to give him a hug, but slipped on the by now melted mess of soup. He picked her up laughing and she hugged him anyway, getting him all sticky in the process.

"Hey!" he protested, but he was smiling. "Now you can teach me how to use this stupid thing."

"Yup!" she handed the money for his lovely new stick to Ollivander. "Come on, it's almost time for supper!" she ran out the door, casting a quick cleaning charm on the floor.

Dare turned to Ollivander, "You'd better keep her," the wand maker said, winking.

Dare blushed and nodded, mumbling, "Thanks for the stick." He ducked out and followed Starlight up the street.

As they stepped into Dumbledore's office, the headmaster looked up from the letter he was writing. "Did you have a nice time?"

"Yes," they both answered. Dare added, "But I think it's time for supper."

Dumbledore nodded, and the three headed down the stairs and went to the Great Hall. "You know, I never actually got to eat my ice cream," Starlight remarked as they all sat down. Dare nodded, thinking about how empty the hall was, there were no students, and only about half the staff was sitting at the teachers' table.

He had initially received a couple of odd stares, but when it was explained that he was an exchange student here early to catch up on any missed lessons, those stares were less occurring. Except from the woman Umbridge, if anything, she was staring at him even more. As the desserts appeared, Starlight was overjoyed to see that there was a huge bowl of her favorite frozen treat. She dug in and the rest of the evening passed uneventful.

As Dare settled into bed, yes he was still using Draco Malfoy's, he sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't wait for school to start.

The next few weeks passed in a blur, and Dare was kept busy by Starlight, learning how to control his magic with the stick, catching up on facts that he should know for school, and trying to avoid the new overly pink DADA teacher. The day of the Hogwarts Express arrived. Dare and Starlight Flooed to the station and boarded the train early to get a good seat. As people started to get on and look for good compartments, their privacy was limited. Luckily no one questioned Dare's story, and they were left relatively alone.

As the last few students hurried aboard, they were visited by the other Slytherins in their year. Dare smiled as he stared Draco Malfoy in the eye. "So, this is the new exchange student I've heard about," he drawled. "It's just too bad that you're a mudblood, isn't it?"

Dare look at Starlight, "It's such a shame that he doesn't know." He smirked, and a real smile broke through. "Can I tell him? Please!"

Starlight pretended to think about it. "You know he won't believe you Dare," she said sadly. "But on the other hand," she visibly brightened, "He would believe _me_ aright. Since I'm the one with all the juicy details."

"Believe what?" Draco sneered, crossing his arms.

"I do think that I won't tell you," Starlight said, pushing her house mates out to door. "Oh, Harry! Just in time, I was saving you a seat. Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"They had to go to the prefect meeting," Harry replied, glaring at the Slytherins. "Anyway, I was wondering if you've seen Neka anywhere."

"Oh, no sorry, I haven't seen her yet."

"Aww, icky Potter's looking for his girlfriend." Cut in Draco. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Actually, Malfoy, Neka has a crush on you," Harry let the remark slip out, and walked into their compartment.

"I-you-sure! Whatever!" Draco stuttered, but was stopped by Starlight's 'stick' in his face.

"You back out, or I'll hex you!" she warned. He sneered at her walked off, his band of followers in tow. She shut the door and sat next to Dare. Harry sat across from them and stared at Dare.

Dare held out his hand, "Dare Ruin."

"Harry Potter," said Harry, shaking the offered hand. He thought that this new student look familiar, but he couldn't place it. Either way, he had an odd feeling about this kid, like he had met him before. Dare just smiled at him and winked, sharing a glance with Starlight.

* * *

**Ok so that's that! What do y'all think about things? Get ready for more awesomeness next time! Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**yay! Chapter 5 and crazy stuff! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

During the train ride, the three students chatted it up about summer and life and random things and Harry found he was actually enjoying himself. This new kid was actually pretty nice, and Harry found himself talking with him like an old friend. _Well, maybe we were friends, and I just can't remember,_he thought.

They were visited by the rest of their friends and Dare was introduced. Everyone seemed to like him, even Ron, after he and Hermione had come back from the prefects meeting. The trolley lady came by, and those with money got as many things as possible, and those without gladly accepted Starlight's knew not to refuse perfectly good candy, especially since Starlight never refused their handouts. As she said, "If I need charity I don't hesitate to accept, especially if it's food. You should never waste good food."

After the goodies had either been stowed or eaten, they started asking Dare questions about life in the U.S. "It's not that different," he said repeatedly before they finally got some answers.

"If you're from America, then why do you have a British accent?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I've been hanging out with Starlight the whole summer." That was all the explanation needed. Everyone knew that if you hung out with Starlight you started talking like her. There was just something about her that made you want to copy her, even if it was unconsciously.

As they neared the school, the girls left the compartment to change and the boy did likewise. As Starlight entered the new designated girls changing compartment, she was bombarded by the sound of gossip. "Isn't he so hot?" sighed Ginny.

"Honestly, I have to agree," replied Hermione. "It's something about the eyes. His eyes are just so blue!"

"I'm guessing you like blue," laughed Starlight, grabbing her uniform.

"He looks like he has a lot of secrets, don't you think?" Luna asked. The girls were trying to be nice, and include her in the conversation.

"Yes, he does, and don't try asking me," Starlight said. "I don't even know the half of it, and I practically know everything."

"Do you know if he has a girlfriend?" asked Ginny, buttoning her blouse.

"Nope, he's single," said Starlight, and she planned to keep it that way. She didn't care if he was with someone, as long as it wasn't her.

"Cool, not that I'm interested at the moment," Ginny stated, has Hermione helped adjust her tie.

"That's right, how many boyfriends have you had now?"

"Um… four, five? I don't know."

"What? They were your boyfriends, how could you not know how many boys you've dated?"

"I moved on that's how," Ginny brushed some nonexistent dirt off her robes. "Come on, let's join the men." The girls walked after her back to the compartment, passing the Slytherin only compartment on the way.

"Anyone up for a little fun?" asked Starlight, grabbing the handle.

Hermione glared at her, "Uh, hello! I'm a prefect here! Do you really want to be 'having fun' in front of me?"

"You could just turn around for a bit, or go find the boys," she suggested pulling the door open. "Hey! Buddies! How's it going?"

"Shut up Starlight!" said a very angry Draco. He stood up to face her. "Why don't you go hang out with your Gryffindor hothead friends?"

"I am, and by the way, hotheads float to the top of the class, while you gloomy peeps, get left behind in the dark." She stuck out her tongue. "You should consider expanding you horizons."

"Whatever, just get your sorry being out of here. In case you haven't noticed, this compartment is Slytherin only."

Starlight looked apologetically at her friends, "Sorry guys Draco says you have to leave."

Draco glared at her, "I meant you."

Starlight shrugged, "Well Duh! You were taking to me!"

Hermione put a hand on the shoulder, "Come on Star, let'sgo. I don't want to abuse my power."

"Power. Don't see why people want it so much." Dare had come up behind the girls and was looking at the Slytherins. "It's really not worth it."

Draco sneered at him, "Yeah, bet you know a lot about that. I happen to know that power can be useful."

"Useful to build you up to a height that really hurts to to put you in a position where you can't back out, and useful to ruin your life." Dare stared hard at the blonde boy."Trust me; you don't want to go that route." He suddenly smiled, "But if you used electricity like the muggles, then it can be very useful, especially when it's dark."

Draco stared at him with an open mouth. He had seen something flash in Dare's eyes and had no trouble believing him. This was someone he'd be safer off with as an ally. He ignored the remark about electricity and pushed his way out the door. He'd approach the new transfer student later, but now he had to disappear, preferably to terrorize some new first years.

Dare laughed and sat down with the Slytherins like he best buddies. "That kid has major issues," he said, glancing at Starlight. She turned and grabbed the other girls, heading back to their own compartment.

"Dare Ruin," he said extending his hand to one of the girls, who giggled.

"Pansy Parkinson," she replied blushing. "Draco just needed to let off some steam."

"Is he always like that?"

"No, he's just…" she hesitated.

"He just stressing over some family issues," Pansy's friend replied. "My name's Daphne Greengrass."

"Pleased to meet you miss Greengrass. I'm sure that Draco will get over his… issues."

"Of course. He just needed time to adjust. Do you know what house you'll be in?" Daphne smoothly changed the subject.

"Not yet, I'll be sorted along with the first years, but will be entering fifth year."

"I bet you'd make a good Slytherin," stated the only other boy in the compartment, as Draco's goons had followed him out. "Blaise Zabini," he offered his hand.

"Nice to finally know your name," responded Dare, shaking the proffered hand. "Are you people already trying to recruit new students, or just me?"

The other students laughed. "No," Blaise shook his head, "Just you, although we'd welcome a change to our reputation."

"How so?"

"Well," Pansy started. "No offence to Draco, but he really isn't helping. He and Professor Snape pretty much have control, mainly because the rest of us aren't really trying to make things better. It's our own fault for being friends with him, but we just can't abandon him." She glanced at her friends, "Well I can't anyway. I'm probably going to marry him."

Dare looked amused. "Why?"

"Well, our families… they… that's just how it is! We can't marry a mud… muggleborn. It just… We just can't!"

"Oh… Why?"

"We- oh never mind! You could never understand! We have to keep our bloodlines pure!" Pansy looked distressed, and Dare realized that she didn't really know why, just that that was how things were done.

"It's alright," he reassured her. "That's fine, I just thought that you shouldn't let people tell you who to be or how to live."

Pansy looked at, "Yeah, but that not so easy to do when you have people pressuring you, and…" she broke off, tears forming in her eyes.

"Threatening to kill you?" Dare finished for her. "Yeah, I know, but you can still fight. You can start by fixing Syitherin's reputation. Don't let Draco or Snape define you. Start inter-house friendships." He gestured to Daphne, "You'd still be neutral. Taking interest in restoring your house's rep doesn't exactly finalize whose side you're on."

The Slytherins stared at him. "How do you know about all that stuff, you're not even from this country!"

"I've been hanging out with Starlight." They noddedknowingly, she was the image of inter-house unity and always knew what was going on, usually before the people that were directly involved knew themselves.

"She's told me all about your war and how this 'oh so high and mighty' lunatic is trying to wipe out most of the world's population." Dare glanced at the Slytherins, "And also these crazy Death Eaters."

"Are you implying-?"

"No, I am simply stating the facts. Starlight has current records on who is or isn't a Death Eater, or in league with them. She's not going to point fingers, and neither am I. I know full well that it was whichever students' parents or family's fault, not the students. In fact, I'm pretty sure Starlight is very into the idea of fixing her house's reputation, and would like some help. Is anyone interested?"

"I'm interested," Blaise said warily. "But how do we know we can trust you? We need proof."

"You can't and there isn't any. But if Starlight's approval isn't enough for you I can't help you." Dare sighed, "I'm also kind of determined not to be in Slytherin."

"Oh, wow." Blaise said sarcastically. "It's because of our bad rep isn't it?"

"No, it has nothing to do with that, I just knew someone who used to be in Slytherin and he brings back bad memories. If he had stayed here, and not moved to America, I'm sure he would've been the biggest Death Eater in history."

"The biggest Death Eater in History is the Dark Lord," Pansy whispered the last part.

"Trust me one this one, this guy would've at least rivaled him, if not assumed the position." Dare scowled, if only they actually knew who he was taking about. But that would've caused all kinds of trouble.

"So how would you still fix our rep if you aren't in our house?" asked Daphne, crossing her arms. She had an idea, but wanted to hear it confirmed.

"I could help with the inter-house relations, put in a good word for you. I can get good connections via Starlight, and you would get a better deal out of the whole thing."

"Yes, but what would you get out of it?"

"Let's just say, I have a personal mission to fix Slytherin House." Dare held out his hand, "What do you say? Deal?"

The three housemates exchanged glances, the other two were looking to Daphne to make the final decision. She shook his hand, "Deal, but this is all under the table until we can find a solution to about Draco and Snape."

"Perfect, I'd better be going, looks like were pulling into the station." Dare gave a little bow that made Pansy giggle and left the compartment. He headed through the stream of students leaving the train and made his way over to Starlight. She smiled at him, but looked a little distracted. "Star what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just talking to Draco about something," she pointed to the boats. "You should get going, first view of the castle and stuff." She winked and headed over to the carriages pulled by the therestrals. Dare waving and settled himself in an empty boat. A girl walked up and sat across from him. She definitely wasn't a first year.

"Are you new?" he asked. She nodded and looked at the castle, awed by its grandeur and the view.

"This is where we will be going to school?" she had a slight French accent. Looking out across the water and to the soaring height of the medieval castle, Dare smiled.

"Yes," he responded. "It's quite a sight, isn't it?"

"It is magnificent. My name is Océane by the way. I am transferring from Beauxbatons."

"Dare," he responded, taking her hand and giving it a small kiss. She blushed and looked away. The rest of the ride was spent in silence. As they got off the boats and when into thecastle, Océane stuck close by him. When they were out of the cold she asked, "What year are you in?"

"Sixth. And you?"

"Sixth also. How does this sorting process happen do you know?"

"Oh, it's simple, they call your name, you go up the front and they put a magical hat on your head that tells you which house you're in," Dare explained. The waiting first years nearby sighed with relief upon hearing this. They were led by Professor McGonagall into the great hall. After the Sorting Hat had sung its song and all the first years were sorted, the two new transfer students were called.

"Anais, Océane."

"Raven claw!"

"Ruin, Dare."_ Hello Tom, it's nice to see you again._

_ Hello, please don't call me Tom; I've let that identity go. Don't want anything to do with it._

_ Of course. Didn't I tell you, you would be rid of that spirit? Well, told you so! Do you still want Gryffindor?_

_ Yes…_

_ You're not sure that would be the best choice? I think you could do the most good in that house, and it would be ironic for the former Dark Lord to enter his rival house._

_ Yes, but… Well it's Starlight, she's in Slytherin this time, but I kind of promised some of them that I would help fix Slytherin House from the outside. Could I really be in Gryffindor?_

_ Yes, in fact, _"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the hat, as Dare's face lit up. He grinned and headed over to the table, among the cheers of his house mates, and very loud laughter and applause from Starlight. Surprisingly the three students he had talked to on the train were clapping as well, a bit more enthusiastically then the rest of their house.

He sat down next to Harry and Ron, who clapped him on the back. "Congratulations mate. Welcome to the best house! By the way, where did you disappear off to back on the train?"

"I was talking business with some Slytherins," Dare explained. "They were interested in my idea to fix their house's reputation, along with inter-house relations."

Harry and Ron looked stunned. "Really?" asked Ron. "How would they do that?"

"Simple. Do something about Snape and Malfoy, be nicer to the other houses, and have a few people working on the outside like me and Starlight. If you guys want, then you could help."

"Um… would we have to be nice to Malfoy?" asked Harry frowning.

"Well, it would help, but you should try to be nice to their house in general. No one says that you have to be best buddies or anything, just stop trying to kill each other. Does that sound acceptable?" Dare was hoping that they'd agree. It would be much easier with the archenemies of Slytherin in on the plan.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," Harry conceded. "As long as they're civil to us in exchange."

"Yup, already working on that." Dare looked up to where the Umbridge woman was finally finishing her speech. "Isn't she just awful?"

"Agreed," said Hermione who was sitting across the table from them. "I just hope she doesn't interfere with our learning."

Ron laughed, "Classic Hermione! Always thinking about that."

"Ron! It's important how many times do I have to tell you?" She was interrupted by the arrival of food. She shrugged and started eating.

* * *

"So what do you think about the new kid?" asked Blaise. "He seemed nice enough, but then again, you never know. He seemed to know and awful lot even if he did hang with Starlight."

"I think we should give him a shot," said Pansy, glancing over her shoulder to the Gryffindor table.

"You just think he's hot!" argued Blaise. "You see what I did there, I made a rhyme! Shot and hot!"

"Shut up Blaise!" said Daphne. "Pansy's right, we should let him work on his plan, and if it doesn't work it's not like our house can get any worse."

Blaise tapped the table, "Knock on wood." Daphne sighed. _And these are the people I'm friends with._ Hopefully the plan would work.

* * *

The newly appointed High Inquisitor was looking at the Gryffindor table. That Harry Potter was going to be a tough piece of work. You-know-who was not back! She had to stop this boy from spreading lies. By any means necessary.

* * *

**Mwaha! Evil Um from Umbridge!**

**What do you peeps think? And if have any questions feel free to PM me. Review and stuff. More awesomeness on the way! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! chapter 6 is finally here! I don't have any of the books or movies on hand, so some of the details like class sceduals and stuff is probably inaccurate, but it's a fanfic, so what the heck? Enjoy!**

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Chapter 6

Oops

Dare was enjoying himself. The other Gryffindors were nice, especially the so called golden trio. _Never thought I'd be hanging out with my arch rival_, he mused. He was currently sitting on his new bed in the same dorm as the boy-who-lived, ironically the new bed was even placed next to his. _Of course, where else would they put me?_

He sighed, contentedly. So far, no one was after him, the Death Eaters still thought he was on "vacation", and best of all he was now making friends with Harry Potter, the one who was supposed to defeat Voldemort. _Well, Voldemort's been defeated alright, just not by him._

"So Dare, what do you think of the school so far?" He was interrupted by Ron's question.

"Oh, I think it's interesting, and can't wait to learn some real magic."

"Don't you have a school like this in America?" asked Harry.

"No, parents just teach their kids whatever they think they should know. There's also a huge library pilled full of books on magic in New York. One of the main differences there is that muggles are more in tune with magic. Some of them can even do small things like make it rain or stop things from hitting the ground. Most of the time they don't realize they're doing it, but some of them know and make constant use of it." Dare explained. He was pretty much just repeating what Starlight had told him.

"Oh, that's cool, I bet the Slytherins would get a kick out of that! Muggles using magic!" exclaimed Seamus, grinning. Harry and Ron had explained to him and Dean that they were trying to be nice to the Slytherins, but the two were skeptical.

"Not only that, but there are more muggleborns than there are purebloods. And the purebloods are actually very nice to people in general, unlike here with all this pureblood supremacy. In fact, a family of them lived near me and helped teach me the basics before I came here. They had quite a lot of money and resources, and since all of their kids had moved out, I guess they wanted someone else they could spoil."

"You don't look very spoiled," pointed out Ron. "Maybe I should consider moving there if it's that amazing!"

"Oh, it's pretty much the same as here, just without all these tensions and Dark Lords and stuff, although people arefriendlier there."

"Whatever you say, I've got my heart set on a vacation in Hawaii!"

"Can't you guys shut up and go to sleep? If you haven't noticed we have classes tomorrow!" groaned an annoyed Dean.

Dare smiled, "Night guys!"

"Night!" came the reply. It was nice to have friends.

Starlight was trying to sleep, but the girls in the Slytherin dorm were apparently set on talking. "So," Started Pansy.

"So goodbye," mumbled Starlight turning over.

"Isn't he so hot?"

"He may very well be attractive, but from what I've noticed he doesn't really seem to be into girls," said Daphne.

"You mean he's gay?" gasped Pansy disappointedly.

"No! I just meant that he has his eyes on one girl in particular."

"Well, why didn't you say so? Who?"

Starlight groaned trying to block out the noise. "Can't you guys shut up? I'm trying to sleep!"

"Oooh someone's grumpy!"

"Shut up Neka!" growled Starlight. She cast a silencing spell of the rest of the group and curled into her blankets.

"What about Draco? You think we can turn him to our cause?" Pansy asked.

"You just want to go out with him!" said Neka accusingly. "If you want a shot at a guy, then make up your mind which guy!"

"You just want Draco for yourself!" declared Pansy.

"Well, yeah, he's hot. But also the fact that if anyone can get him to agree with something it's me!" Neka crossed her arms and glared at Pansy.

"True," said Starlight. "Now all of you shut up before I hex you!"

"Hey, I thought you-?" Pansy was hit full in the face with permanent green slime. "Hey!" she screamed.

"I said shut up!" The girls shut up, and lay down. Pansy was sniffling softly. "Oh screw you!" muttered Starlight and cast the counter hex. She closed her eyes fell asleep.

The next morning, Starlight was woken up by a very demanding Daphne. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" sked Starlight yawning.

"Fixing our House that's what! Didn't Dare tell you?"

"Um… no. I didn't get a chance to talk to him yesterday, but you could start by sitting at the Gryffindor table during breakfast." Starlight's suggestion was met with indignant cries of disbelief.

"What?! Slytherins don't sit with anyone except other Slytherins! That- No! Just no! It's beneath our dignity!" Pansy was outraged. "We're so much better than them! I shouldn't have to put up with that!"

Starlight could see reasoning wouldn't get her anywhere. "Do you want to fix this House?" Pansy nodded. "Then you have to make a statement!"

"I see where you're going with this!" said Daphne. "If we sit with the other house, we're not only breaking the boundaries of the Houses, but that we don't care about them! That's perfect!"

"But we do care!" protested Pansy, as the girls looked at her. She blushed, "Or at least I do."

"Why? Your House is where you sleep and who you have classes with. That's it! No one ever said that you couldn't sit at a different table. People just never bothered to ask."

"But… Slytherins are better than everyone else." Pansy said, although not as sure as before.

"Says who? Other Slytherins? The Gryffindors say they're the best house, and so do the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. It doesn't actually matter, because we're all students at Hogwarts aren't we?" Starlight could see that she was Pansy over. Daphne had never really supported the whole superior Slytherin thing, and Neka was totally with Starlight even though she had a huge attitude.

"So we sit with the Gryffindors today," said Starlight, prompting the conversation in the right direction. "Agreed?"

"What about the boys?" asked Daphne. "Are we including Blaise?"

"Sure, he can come if he wants to. I'm sure Dare has gotten people from the other houses to join us as well."

Pansy looked at the other girls and saw the decision had been made. "Okay, but one condition! I don't have to sit next to any of the Weasels!"

"Fine," Starlight laughed. "If you can find an open seat, then by all means, sit next to whoever you want!" The girls headed down to breakfast, stopping to tell Blaise the plan. When they got to the Great Hall, they all headed over to the Gryffindor table. Most of the students hadn't gotten there yet, so the table wasn't full. They sat down next to the Golden Trio and proceeded to start eating.

"Um… What are you guys going here?" asked Ron little confused and territorial about the Slytherins invading their space. "Starlight?"

"We're breaking boundaries; no one ever said we couldn't sit here."

"Oh, well um… okay I guess. Just don't…" he glanced at the Slytherins. "You know… make a scene."

"We intend to, but not what you're thinking of. Just act civil to us, and we'll leave you alone." Daphne told the Gryffindors.

"So, Dare. Did you what do you think of the castle so far?" Pansy had sat down next to him so as to be the farthest away from Ron.

"It's interesting, and I think I've actually got the moving stairs down." He replied, buttering his toast. The other students had started to come in and were watching the strange spectacle at the Gryffindor table unfold.

"Harry, pass the jam please."

"Here you go Blaise."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The Hall held its breath.

"Pansy, can you pass the salt?"

"Sure, here you go Ron."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The Hall exploded into chaos. People gasped, especially the other Slytherins. Protests rung out among the students, while the teachers either smiled, or frowned as in Umbridge's case. Starlight stood up on the table and the Hall fell silent. "No one ever said we had to sit at our own tables, so if anyone wants to join us, you're welcome to!" Neka stared pointedly at Draco, raising her eyebrows suggestively. He blushed and glared at the surrounding Hall, wishing he could melt into the floor to the kitchen underneath, so he could finish eating alone.

He groaned and walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Neka, and was now unfortunately sitting acrossfrom Harry. Dare looked on in amusement. The Hall had once again frozen. Draco glanced around thinking, _What the heck! Why not._

"Weasley, hand me the waffles."

"Here Malfoy."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The Hall exploded again. People were confounded. If Draco Malfoy would talk to Ron Weasley without any traded insults, then who knows what else could happen! At the teachers table, the new defense teacher sat and stared. Starlight, watching the action shared a look with Dare. Their plan seemed to be working. He winked at her and got up to leave, already having got his schedule. She bowed to the watching audience. "Thank you for watching the Inter-house show this morning! Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode!"

She left the roar of the following conversation, and hurried to catch up to Dare. "Nice ending," he said as she walked up.

"You used that listening charm I taught?"

"Yeah, and it paid off! The Inter-house Show? Hilarious!"he grinned. "What's your first class?"

"Double potions, Transfiguration, and Defense, you?"

"Same! Looks like we get to spend the day together!" he looked thrilled.

"Yup, but don't expect me to be nice! It's the first day of school, AND we have double potions first thing, you do remember who the potions teacher is right? But a former… you-know-what, you should have no problem, especially with big bad old Starlight watching your back!"

Dare visibly deflated. "Yeah, as long as he doesn't give me detention on sight, I should be fine. Who are you going to partner with?"

"I don't know, Pansy really seems to like you, I would want to disappoint her."

"But you'd disappoint me?" Dare stopped walking, and looked at her. She blushed, mumbling something. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that."

Starlight started walking, "You know we should get to class."

Dare sighed, "Girls!" he hurried to catch up to her and took her hand, twirling her in a circle, then landing a kiss firmly on her lips. She laughed, but didn't return it. "Come on you! Let's go!" He frowned, but the reason for her abruptness rounded the corner.

"Hello you two! What are you doing here all by yourselves?" teased Neka. She was alone but the sounds of other students were echoing down the hallway. Dare glared at her and muttered a few undistinguishable but obvious insults. The girls laughed and headed into Snape's class room, Dare close behind.

"Star? Please?" he whined. She laughed, sitting down next to him. Neka sat down directly behind him, and held a place for Draco. When Pansy came in, she saw that all of best boys were taken and settled down next to Blaise with a sigh. Draco and Harry were sitting on opposite sides of the room, but that was to be expected.

Snape walked in and found that there was no definition between the between the two Houses. People sat where ever they felt like it, next to whoever they wanted. Some of the students were sitting next to their rival Housemates; there was just no regard for House boundaries. _Interesting_, he mused. The staff had been hearing rumors that it was all started by Dare, but that couldn't be true. The Dark Lord starting house unity, let alone supporting it? No way.

"Turn to page 163 and begin," he said. _Let's see if Dare remembers what he's doing._

"But that's too advanced!" protested Hermione. "We haven't learned how to do half this stuff."

"Then I suggest you get started," replied Snape, with his ever cool demeanor. The students scrambled to gather their supplies, a few of the smarter minds waiting until the stampede had died down. Starlight returned with their supplies, along with something extra from her own pocket, chocolate.

"Remember this potion? Just like old times huh?" she whispered. Dare grinned and the two set to work. The potion, used to remedy homesickness, was in actuality one of the easier potions to do, but required learning a few steps they hadn't done yet, obviously. As they added the final ingredient, Starlight dropped in three squares of her chocolate, and stirred six times counterclockwise. The potion turned a bright yellow color, and gave off a mouthwatering scent.

Professor Snape walked over to examine their results, and frowned. "Why does it smell like that? It's supposed to smell like week old garbage."

"We added an extra ingredient to make it taste better, it still works," replied Dare, pouring a sample for the professor. "You can test it if you want."

The class had stopped to watch the exchange. "Well then, you wouldn't mind demonstrating now would you, Mr. Ruin?" Snape asked.

Dare shook his head, and gestured to Starlight, "I'm not homesick in the least, it won't have any results. But I'm sure Starlight can try it." He handed the sample to her. She didn't even hesitate and gulped it down, giving off a satisfied sigh in the process.

"Yum!" she smiled and nothing else happened.

"Did it work?" asked Neka, poking Starlight in the head.

"Well, seeing as I don't want to be in bed sleeping any more, yes I suppose it did." The class laughed, and Snape awarded the Slytherins with 15 points for successful experimentation, and the Gryffindors 10 points for a job well done, because Dare was glaring at him. Sometimes it pays being an ex-Dark Lord, he thought.

The rest of the day passed the same, at lunch there wasn't even a hint of house tables any more as the students were sitting in a jumble of friends and enemies, and Harry and Draco found themselves once again sitting across from each other. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall actually smiled at Dare, and awarded Starlight 10 points to Slytherin for "over stepping your boundaries and making new friends."

The fun stopped when they hit Defense. "Wands away, and please turn to page one of your books," said the horrendously pink excuse of a teacher. She went on to give a speech about the Ministry and how they would be learning theoretical stuff only.

Starlight sighed, and whispered to Dare, "Looks like the R&R is going to be in big use this year." He nodded.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class Ms. Gilgalad?"

"Yes, I was just wondering how we were going to preform our exams without practicing the spells," she glanced at Neville. "No offence, but he's going to need extra practice."

"Well, I'm sure if you study hard enough you'll all do just fine."

"Whatever you say Professor," said Starlight mimicking her high pitched voice with a smile. She gestured for her to continue, and by the end of class, Harry had ended up with a week's worth of detention. Unfortunately Dare had to comment on Umbridge's statement.

"You are absolutely right Professor, Voldemort is gone and no one will be having any trouble from him. But the Death Eaters now, they'll be hard to get rid of. In fact I'm sure the Ministry is taking extra precautions against them." Every one heard the implied, _instead of restricting a certain school._

"Detention Mr. Ruin, and don't use his name! It's you-know-who!"

"Well, if he really is gone and not coming back, there's nothing he can do about it is there? You want to give him respect by fearing to say his name?" Dare smiled, staring at Umbridge with unwavering eyes. "I really don't think you do, do you Professor." You could almost see the contempt dripping off the word.

"You have just earned yourself a month's detention Mr. Ruin! How dare you imply I would hold with such a thing! The idea!" exclaimed the pink monster.

"Well, my name is Dare after all, so I guess I do." With that, he got up and left her class, Starlight followed and flipped off the teacher glancing at the class.

"If anyone wants to join us, feel free." She said and left the classroom, heading for the Great Hall. "Dare! Wait up! That was amazing! You're bloody brilliant!" He smiled, an swept her into a hug.

"I know! Why?" He leaned down and kissed her gently, but she pulled away.

"Dare, please… don't. I- I can't lose you!" she tried to struggle out of his grasp but he held her firmly.

"Star! Star listen to me! You have to understand that I don't care! I love you and that isn't going to change whether you push me away or not! I know that you'll watch me die and be heart broken, but can't you just be happy while it lasts?"

"Dare! I- please! You don't know what it's like!"

"Yes," he whispered. "Yes I do. I had to watch you die; I had to live with the knowledge that it was my fault! Don't youDare say I don't understand! That's my job!" he smiled at her, waiting for the joke to drop.

She laughed, melting into him. "Don't you Dare! Wow, that's all you've got?"

"No," he tilted her head up, bending his down. When their lips met, he felt the tears streaming down her face, but also the sensation of being split to his very atoms. He gasped, but she held on, deepening the kiss. As the feeling faded, she broke off, staring into his eyes.

"Dare? Remember when I said I didn't want to lose you? Well, now I can't." She looked down, her face pale.

"What?" he caught her as she fell, and carried her to the hospital wing.

"Oops." she mumbled. "Why is it that you're always carrying me around?"

"Because!" he laughed. "You keep falling over!"

"Well put me down! I'm _not_ going to be subjected to Madam Pomfrey's care! I'm not even sick!" she protested flipping out of his arms. "Come on; let's head down to the lake."

As they sat down under their favorite tree Starlight let out a sigh. "So… yeah."

"So goodbye," whispered Dare.

She glared at him. "I have to tell you something, and it's very important!"

Dare nodded giving her his undivided attention. "You know how I can never stay dead?" He nodded. "Well, neither can you." He stared at her. "I have the ability to make one person like me. Only one person and I accidentally made you that person. See this is what happens when you get me all worked up!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down! What do you mean?What did you?"

"Like I said, oops. I didn't mean to, but you know I hate it when I cry! I was just so worked up and lost control. You still have time to decide if you want it to stick or not."

"So you're saying that I'll never die like you? That we'll always be together? That I can change my age and go back to school, or whatever?" She nodded. "Well why didn't you do this years ago?!" he exclaimed.

_Oh, great! Now look what I've done! I'm stuck with _him_now!_But she didn't care; she finally had someone that wouldn't leave her, who wouldn't move on without her. "You know, this isn't a good thing! You have no idea how long I've been alive! I've seen worlds end and new worlds start! I've seen the sun explode, burn out, die! I've seen the constellations change, and It's enough to drive anyone mad! Trust me, it's a curse!"

"Yeah, but no you're not alone anymore." He whispered, pulling her close. "And you could've ended you with someone less… interesting. At least we can have lots of fun!"

She laughed, "Yeah but-"

"Students out of class!" screeched Filch. "You're coming with me you nasty things!"

The two immortal kids glared at him, and smiled. "Filch, go away." Filch shuddered at their expressions, and turned, mumbling something about going to the headmaster. They laughed, until they noticed a shadow fly across the sun. "Shit!" said Starlight. She looked at Dare, "Run!"

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**run! I finished writing this chapter and relized I couldn't read the next chapter. Then I relized that this was my fanfic, so I could just right what happened next. Yeah, I'm stupid. Oh well, at least you all know that I'm definitely writing the next chapter! And DISCLAIMER! In case you haven't noticed, this is a fanfic! Go J K Rowling for writing Harry potter! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey peoples, i wasn't too sure about this chapter, but what the heck, its fanfiction! So here you go and enjoy**!

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Chapter 7

"Run!" They ran. Dare tried to look behind them, but Starlight jerked him back. "Don't look, don't stop. We have to get out of here or the whole school is screwed."

"What is it?"

"Doesn't matter, you'll know soon enough, and trust me don't want to know." She pulled him into the forest and wove among the trees. Whatever was following made no noise, but Dare could feel it diving towards them. "Duck!" Starlight pushed him down into a tree. The thing swooped overhead, and Starlight got up again, dragging him further in.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Somewhere I can drop you off."

"Hey! No one's leaving me anywhere! I can help!"

"No. You can't help. Sorry, but I'm not dragging you into this."

"Why? Star, what is this thing?"

"Something worse than all the Death Eaters. Something worse than a billon dementors. Something worse than the thing that possessed you! All combined! Trust me, you can't help. I haven't seen it since the last world, and trust me, you can't get rid of it, and I've tried." She pushed him into a hollow tree. "Stay here, and don't move. You may be immortal now, but this thing can still rip you to shreds."

"So wait! You two are like… locked in an epic battle, good versus evil?"

"No. This thing isn't good or evil, it has no alliances. It's just a nuisance that you can't get rid of. It only has one thought and which is _survive._ It will do whatever it takes to survive and doesn't even notice what gets in the way." She smiled. "Except me. It really doesn't like me, as you can tell."

"But where did it come from?"

"Where did I come from? No idea, why don't you ask it? Stay here. When you get a chance get to that tree over there, that's the disapperating boundary. Go somewhere and get me a warm drink. I'm going to need." Starlight ran off, not believing for once that Dare would actually stay put. The monster screeched and followed her.

"Come on you ugly thing." It didn't actually understand words, but yelling off insults made her feel better. It dived in and tried to claw her face off. "Oh no you don't! I didn't put up with Umbridge's class just for you to attack!" She shot a blast of energy at the thing, pushing it back. "Take that!"

It roared and dived again. "What is with you? Can't you take a hike?" She shot more blasted at it. "I thought you were still stuck in the other dimension, living it up with plenty of food and stuff. What made you change your mind, huh?"

It dived repeatedly and Starlight hoped that Dare was out of the general area. _I really don't want to have to blow this lovely patch of forest up. Thankfully the unicorns are not here._ With that random thought she quickly cast a Patronus and sent a message to Dare. "Get away now; I really don't want to blow you up!"

She focused channeling her energy into an explosive laser-like beam. "Come and get it loser!" she shouted at the monster. It landed on the ground and started to charge. She let the beam fly and it hit beast square on. The resulting boom could be heard even as far as the Syltherin's dorms. "What! Oh!" she yelled, as it groaned and tried to fly away. Unfortunately it wasn't dead.

Its wings were fried, but it could still run, and it started to gather the residue magic from her blast. "Shit! When did you learn how to do that?" She backed up slowly, ready to open a void portal. "Come on, let's go you stupid animal. This way." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dare peeking out from behind a tree.

"Stupid! Stupid! Why? Great, just great!" she tried to keep its attention on her, but Dare just _had_ to go and step on a stick. The monster whirled around and fired the beam at him. Starlight ran in front of Dare and was just in time to erect a shield. Unfortunate she was facing Dare at the time and the shield went up between them. She took the blast directly to her back and was thrown into the tree. The magic started to sizzle and waves of half used sludge radiated from her pores.

The monster came over and sniffed her, then let out a piercing shriek and flew away, obviously thinking Starlight was done for. Dare counteracted the shield and ran over to her smoking form. "Hey Star, you alright? That was some blast you took. By the way, thanks." He rolled her over and a strange sensation came over him. His vision flickered, and he could see different colors, the plants were green or brown, and when he look at himself he could see a white shimmering light. Starlight didn't have any color.

He stared her, she wasn't moving. _What's wrong with her?_ He thought. _She shouldn't be like this. She's not dead, she has a pulse._ He glanced around and saw a Starlight shaped blob of white shimmering light floating above his head, with its arms crossed. "Hi, what are you doing?"

She shook she shook her head, pointing at her body. He looked and saw a bunch of those blue sparks flying around her. "Okay… what's that? Are you fixing yourself?"

She nodded, glaring at him. "What? It's your fault for getting in front of me! I could've done the same thing! Couldn't I?" She shook her head. "Why not? I thought I could do everything you can." Again, shake of head. The sparks had finally settled, but she didn't move.

"Aren't you… fixed?" She nodded, and then shrugged. "Okay then, what's wrong?" Starlight's ghost, spirit, whatever it was, pointed at Dare. "Me?"

She nodded, drifting towards him. She looked thoroughly angry, and he thought he could see a red glow around her. She jabbed her finger at him and then at her body and glared at him. "What?" then he remembered whenever something happened, they had kissed. "You want me to kiss you?" She nodded stiffly, and if looks could kill he'd be a blackened scorch on the ground. "Woah, no need to look like that," he leaned in and touched his lips to hers.

Immediately the sparked surrounded her and she sat up and slapped him, hard. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND DO THAT?! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE! BUT DID YOU LISTEN? NO! OF COURSE NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE SO BLOODY GRIFFINDOR!" she yelled, and tried to calm down. "Why did you do that?"

"Because!" Dare had never seen her like this. "You were backed up into a tree with a vicious monster in front of you that hated your guts. What do you think I was supposed to do? I may be a Gryffindor, but it was bloody stupid of you of to go off on your own like that."

"And just what did you think I have been doing before you came along? I am perfectly capable of handling myself! You of all people should know that!" She sighed, "I told you to leave so you wouldn't get hurt. I was just about to open a void portal to get rid of it, but I end up stranded as a spirit because I had to protect you."

"Sorry. I thought you needed help. I was wrong." Dare stared at her, and her red glow started to fade. "So… how do I turn off the spirit vision thing?"

"Stop trying to see spirits. Duh, and I suppose you want to know why I couldn't come back by myself. Well, annoyingly we are now connected but the force of… I'm not quite sure actually, but we're connected, so that's that. You had to kiss me because that's what we were doing when we connected. End of story, no more questions." She pulled Dare to his feet.

"Right. Lets go."

"Where's my hot drink?" she asked and punched him in the arm. "Come on, we still have detention with the Um from Umbridge."

"What? After all this, we still have to go to detention? Unbelievable!"

"Yeah, well, if you don't play by the rules, people get suspicious, and that's the last thing you want."

"Right, the ministry." Dare frowned. "This is a nuisance, do you think we can get her fired?"

"Bet on it, moldy."

"Where were you two? That was an awesome exit by the way." Neka and the gang were waiting at dinner. "Why didn't you come to lunch?"

"We were a little busy," Dare said looking at Starlight.

"Yeah, fighting monsters and ditching class and stuff." She winked.

"Yep, totally monster fighting."

"Whatever guys, but I'll get it out of you eventually!" They laughed and Neka's comment and then proceeded to fill their plates. "You two are just as bad as Ron! No offence Ron."

"Thanks, wait… Hey!" Ron glared at her.

"Well as you pointed out, we missed lunch."

"Come on Harry, we've got to get to _detention_." Starlight said it like it would be anything other than the word. The three students walked to Umbridge's classroom and sat down.

"Please get out a piece of parchment, you Mr. Potter will be writing _I will not tell lies. _Mr. Ruin, _I will not be disrespectful._ The same for you Ms. Gilgalad." she had on the ridiculous smile of hers as usual. "I have quills for you to use." They were handed the said quills.

"But there isn't any ink!" protested Harry.

"Just start writing."

He did so, wincing as he felt a sharp pain on the back of his hand. Red ink started to flow from the pen. Umbridge went back to her desk and started grading papers. Starlight and Dare shared a glance. "Professor, you do know that using blood quills is illegal right?"

"Silence! You will right your lines." The teacher looked startled.

"Sure, but not with a blood quill, Harry you can stop." Starlight stood up. "If you're having us use blood quills, then you are violating the law! Come on guys, the head master should hear about this."

"I forbid you to leave! You will be expelled!"

"Aaaaannd…? That's all you've got? There are other countries we could learn magic in." she swept out of the room, her robes swirling behind her. Sometimes a Snape exit was required. The other two students followed, hurriedly dodging a full body bind jinx.

They ran to Dumbledore's office unnoticed and thankfully didn't run into filch, not that they couldn't have handled him. At the top of the stairs, Harry knocked on the Headmaster's door. "Professor?"

"Come in, ah Harry. Hello Starlight, Dare. Lemon drop?" They shook their heads.

"No thanks, Professor, we have some urgent news that can get a certain pink professor fired!" Dare said.

"Important enough that you would skip out on said professor's detention?"

"Yup! She's using blood quills! That's illegal, just look at Harry's hand!"

"I see. That is news indeed. Although, I cannot fire her without a teacher backing up your claims." He smiled apologetically. "Why don't you… ask one about it," he said, winking at Dare.

The ex-Dark Lord smiled and said, "Oh I will, don't worry about that. Anything to get that awful woman out of here, along with the ministry." He glanced at Starlight. "Be right back."

A few minutes later he returned with Snape. "What's this I heard about blood quills?"

"Apparently the Defense teacher and high inquisitor, Dolores Umbridge, is using them to punish students during detention," stated Dumbledore.

"I see. May I see the evidence?" Harry held up his hand. He was desperately hoping that Snape wouldn't dismiss the truth. The words, _I will not tell lies,_ were bright red scratches on the back of his hand.

"That enough proof for you?" asked Dare.

"Quite. Headmaster, it appears that Dolores Umbridge is employing the use of illegal blood quills."

"Yes, thank you for your notice." He sent a fire message to the soon-to-be-fired Defense teacher. A few minutes later she knocked on the door.

"Headmaster, I assure you that these students are spreading lies about me. I have heard their claim about me using blood quills and it's quite absurd!"

"Yes thank you Dolores. But as a fact, we have proof that is backed by two teachers." He gestured toward the door, as professor McGonagall stepped into the room.

"Yes, you did know that the use of blood quills is illegal, correct? I working at the ministry and all." The transfiguration teacher stared pointedly at Umbridge.

"I suppose that leaves me no choice but to fire you and inform the ministry." The headmaster's eyes twinkled.

"This is an outrage! The minister will hear about this!"

"Yes, I'm sure he will; let's just hope you don't end up in Azkaban shall we?" Professor Snape replied.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"What's this? Who's using blood quills?" The Minister of magic barged his way in, followed by two aurors.

"Miss Dolores Umbridge is using blood quills to punish the students," stated McGonagall.

"I see." The Minister's voice was cold. He glanced at Umbridge, "I suppose we'll have to appoint a new High Inquisitor, along with a new Defense teacher."

"Don't worry about the teacher, I already have someone who is willing to take the job." Dumbledore smiled.

The students glanced at him questioningly. "Who?" asked Starlight. The Headmaster gave her a look that said, _not now._

"Very well, I expect them here by the end of the week, and they must only teach ministry approved material." Fudge glared at everyone. "Jerry, Bob, please take Miss Umbridge to the courtrooms. I'll be along shortly."

"Yes sir!" They dragged the protesting woman out the door.

"You are causing me so much trouble Dumbledore," the minister said. "But I intend to remedy that." He walked out the door, his capes swishing in a Snape-ish fashion.

"He just can't do it right," commented Starlight, winking at Snape.

"Yes, thank you all, if I may have a word with Miss Starlight?" Professor Dumbledore nodded at the assembly of people. They nodded and left, Dare casting a listening charm.

Starlight sat down across from the headmaster. "Sir? You need a teacher don't you?"

"Yes. I was hoping…"

She sighed. "Al, I can't just drop everything and start teaching."

"You would be exempt from taking any classes."

"DEAL!" Starlight shouted. "Would I still be a student here, or how would that work?"

"You would still be a student, but you would have to use one of those halograms."

"Hologram. I think I can do that. Would the teacher or the student be the hologram?" She frowned. "This is going to be interesting."

"Yes it is. Watch out for the ministry and please actually get the students to learn something for once. Do you need a curriculum?"

"No, I know what I'm going to teach, and I don't really care what the ministry says. The dementors won't go anywhere near me," she started glowing. "I wonder why?"

"Good, it's all settled then. I'll leave you to sort out the chinks. Thank you, Star."

"No problem. But if anything happens, I DIDN'T DO IT!" she grinned and left, walking down the stairs.

"Hey Dare, problem with the sneaky charm?"

"Dang it! So what were you two talking about?" He took her arm and they walked to the R&R.

"He needed a teacher. Seeing as I know everything there is to teach, I now have the position. By the way, you know the curse you put on the job?"

"Yeah, oh!"

"Yeah, take it off."

"Right! But technically nothing will happen to you, because you weren't here for the whole term! The first miserable day, belongs to Umbridge."

"True, wow, we've only been here for a day, and look at all the stuff we did!"

"I know! Ready for some practice? I want to learn how to use this wand properly!"

"Right, well come on! I have stuff to do now. Hey! I can give you detention! Sweet!" She laughed, and pulled him in front of the door. "One practice arena coming up!"

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**So! Star is now a teacher! yay… i think. Guess you'll all just have to see how it turns out! As always, more awesomeness on the way! Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! sorry it took so long, but ya know, family stuff and stuff. DONT WORRY! I will be updating before New Year's! Count on it! As of now, Chapter 8! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

Harry woke up in the morning to find he had slept another uneventful night. It was becoming a regular occurrence. Since Voldemort had come back, his scar hadn't bothered him once. He wasn't even sure if he still had the strange connection with the Dark Lord anymore. "Ron, wake up. It's time for classes!"

The said Weasley rolled over and mumbled something, pulling the blanket over his head. Dare was just at the point of dumping the frigid bucket of water on him, when Dean ran into the room shouting, "Guys! Everyone says we have a new Defense teacher! Umbridge has been sacked!"

Ron bolted awake, narrowly missing the bucket. "What! That's great! Who's the new one?" Dare quietly moved the bucket out of Ron's general vicinity, banishing it back to his trunk.

"Well, supposedly it's another girl." Dean grabbed Seamus and they ran to get ready for the day.

"Probably another crack from the ministry," Ron commented, climbing out of bed. Dare winked at Harry, putting a finger to his lips. Harry smiled and Ron, oblivious to all, grumbled about various morning related things. Once they were ready, they headed down to breakfast, meeting the other half of their group of… Harry wasn't ready to call the Slytherins friends, but they definitely weren't enemies any longer.

Neka was sitting with Draco and Pansy already, and Hermione was chatting with Blaise. There was no sign of Starlight. Harry sat down between Ron and Dare, filled his plate and listened to the various conversations floating around. Most people were talking about the new teacher who hadn't appeared yet. "Hey Draco, did your dad pick this teacher out too?" Neka winked, eating her toast.

"No, apparently the headmaster managed to find someone, Merlin knows how. They _are_ sending another representative from the ministry though; he's supposed to be an Auror."

"Right… why would they waste an Auror on us?" Pansy frowned, nudging closer to Malfoy.

"Supposedly Fudge is afraid Dumbledore's going to try to take over his job; it's absurd really. Everyone knows the old coot doesn't want the job." Harry found that despite Malfoy being… well _Malfoy_, he wasn't all that bad. Ron actually asked him what he thought about there being a ministry official at school, and didn't even glare at him the whole time.

Hermione glanced at him, her eyes asking, _I didn't think it was possible, nobody is insulting anyone!_ He smiled, nodding. It was actually kind of nice. Even the Twins were talking good naturedly down the table to some of the older students in various houses, Slytherins included. The only person who seemed out of it was Dare. He kept glancing around, probably looking for Starlight.

Harry frowned, she usually wasn't this late, and almost never skipped a meal, excluding yesterday. The new teacher hadn't come in yet either. _I wonder what's going on,_ he thought. Dare stood and left the hall, heading for class. Harry mumbled something about using the bathroom to Ron and followed. They had transfiguration first thing today, but Dare wasn't going that way. Instead, he seemed to be heading to the Defense classroom.

"Star, you in here?" Dare knocked on the door, pushing it open.

The new teacher looked up from her desk, or rather; Starlight looked up from the new teacher's desk. "Dare, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how things were going. Have you decided how you're going to do things yet?"

"NO! The holograms aren't working! As of now, I'm supposed to be in the sick bay, until I work things out. Dumbledore offered a time turner, but the ministry is keeping a close eye on them. I don't suppose you know where I can get one?"

"Sorry, but isn't it a bad thing if you see yourself using one of those or something?" Dare sat on the nearest desk.

"Yeah, but I don't mind it, especially since I've done it before." She glanced at his face. "And no, not to change something, that just came with the use, but to do multiple things at once! Like they're meant to be used!"

"_Right_… anyway, I have a suggestion. Instead of using a time turner, couldn't you just transfigure something into another you? Then add the Starlighty-est part of you into it? I know it's never been done before, but… my _friend _was looking into it."

"Yeah, just because your _friend_ Volde- wait, that actually might work!" she slumped on the desk, thinking. "There's this mental condition that sometimes occurs if you use too much magic. It's called Merlin's Mind. What most people don't realize is that Merlin actually had something like multiple personality disorder. The only difference is that each personality has access to a different type of magic. Like Bob can only do transfiguration stuff, and Jo can only use offensive magic."

"So you're saying Merlin was actually crazy?"

"No, I'm saying that because of his condition, he was able to find a cure. He combined all of his different personalities together to get rid of it. As a result, his magic flowed together and became stronger. There is a reverse way to do it, to cause Merlin's Mind to appear. If I could do that, then I could theoretically put each personality into a different body/hologram, and it could act on its own; reporting to the dominant personality."

"Yup, you're crazy. Almost like a Horcrux isn't it?"

"No! This had nothing to do with souls! It's just a branch off of your mind! Not your very being!" Starlight backed off, seeing the almost scared look on Dare's face. "Sorry, I just get agitated in the morning. Hurry up and get to class." Her appearance melted into a young woman with light brown curls and blue eyes. "Scram or I'm giving you detention for snooping in my classroom!"

Dare grinned, his uneasiness gone. "Fine, I'd like that." He turned and left, glancing at the clock on his way out, and ran to class before the bell rang. Harry was left in the corridor thinking about the conversation he had overheard.

Starlight, who was the new teacher, was doing some crazy scheme to be two places at once. Dare had a friend whose name sounded suspiciously like Voldemort and Merlin had multiple personality disorder. His only thought at the moment was: _Hermione is going to freak!_

Halfway through Transfiguration, Starlight came in. "Sorry, I was in the sick bay. Had a major headache! So what are we doing?"

Dare wondered if this was the real Starlight. "Hey," he whispered as they got back to work. "You… real?"

"No duh! I'm always real! And for you information, so is the new teacher." She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, but are you the… new real?"

"Not telling!" Dare frowned, as she grinned at him.

"Fine, you're going to hold this over me, aren't you?"

"Yup, now gets you to working on ye magic!"

Dare glanced over at Harry, who had been eyeing him. "What's with him?"

"Don't know, don't care, unless it involves hilarious entertainment, or screaming students." She flicked her wand/stick. "Have you got the hang of you wand yet?"

"Yeah, it's just like… wait for it, _a wand_!" he retorted sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"Fine, point made." The rest of the day passed uneventfully up until Defense Against the Dark Arts. The students sat down in their desks, eyes on the empty chair at the front of the room. "When is she going to get here?" Starlight winked at Dare. _She tends to do that a lot,_ he thought.

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class, the candles flickered out. The shutters were already closed and the curtains drawn. Tiny blue lights appeared floating around the room that looked suspiciously like sparks. A whispering voice could be heard coming from all around.

"Welcome to your new and improved Defense class," it whispered. "Your previous teachers have done a disgraceful job at teaching you, excepting Professor Lupin. I intend to bring you up to standards not with extra homework, but with extra practice. Every double class you will have with me will be spent in a special practice room, designed to be the best learning environment." The voice took a breath. "Now if you will please follow the lights. Don't try to ditch class, because I know you all want to start practicing defensive spells. As well as a few _offensive_ ones."

The students all stood, whispering to each other, and followed the tiny sparks out of the classroom. Dare stuck close to Starlight, "Bit theatrical don't you think?"

"Hey, it's my job to be awesome!" she grinned. He put his arm around her, pulling her away from the stampede that was following the lights.

"Careful, you don't want to be falling over do you?"

"Shut up!" The students found themselves in the R&R corridor, facing the new teacher. She was in her late teens to early twenties, and had shoulder length curls that framed her lightly tanned face. Non-descriptive blue eyes studied each of them in turn.

"Welcome to DADA ," she said. "This will be your new classroom." She gestured to the empty wall behind her, as a door appeared. She entered, leaving the students to wonder about her apparent lack of age, as well as the strange classroom. They gave up wondering and moved on to actually looking and entered the room.

Targets were lined up along the sides of the room, and various couches and comfy chairs were scattered at the far end, facing a blackboard. "Most of you are probably wondering why we are here instead of a traditional classroom. You are here because I have found it easier to learn something when you are having fun. The ministry obviously doesn't want you to learn, by shutting you up in a dusty old room, reading how to preform spells instead of actually using them."

She gestured for them to sit, and moved on. "My name is Dianna Jordan, and I don't really care what you call me." She clapped her hands, "So, moving on, take a good look around you. What do you see?"

Pansy raised her hand. "Yes, miss Parkinson?"

"Well, there's a whole lot of targets and stuff." She hesitated, while Professor Jordan nodded.

"There certainly is. This is because you will be using these targets for practicing your aim. What else?"

"There's a dueling ring!" Ron blurted out.

"Yes! Again you will be using everything you see here to practice with. As I said before, it seems to me that you haven't learnt much from your previous Professors. I intent to remedy this." She paused, "Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Is it true that… You-know-who is back?" Neville shot a look at Harry, indicating that he believed his story.

"Yes, and no." replied the new professor. "Voldemort," the class cringed, "_Did _come back, the night Mr. Potter's story takes place, although the ministry seems to deny the fact. They are right on one account though, Voldemort," another cringe. Jordan rolled her eyes. "Is not back _now_. He is no longer in existence. I'm sure that the man who _was_ called Voldemort- it's his name, use it!- is still around."

"But shouldn't we be worried about him?" Daphne called out.

"No, miss Greengrass. He is gone, done, finished. The people you should be worried about however are the Death Eaters. With _Voldemort_ gone, the highest Death Eaters will probably compete for power, and someone will take the so called Dark Lord's place."

"Oh, that makes sense I suppose," Daphne conceded. "So what will we be learning?"

"What you should already know. Mostly spells and such, but also the more practical ways, like hand to hand combat, how to take your way out of things, what to do in certain situations, how to save a life, and most importantly, defense against the dark arts. The first and for most thing you _need_ to know is how to fix the effects of the Killing Curse!"

"But that's impossible!" shouted Hermione. "There isn't a counter curse! That's why it's one of the Unforgivables!"

"Yes and no! There IS a counter curse, but it will only work for four minutes after someone was hit by the Killing Curse. This spell is _Solvere Ultimum._ It means Undo Last. A bit clichéd but it works. Now, who would like to see a demonstration?" Hands shot up.

"Good, now watch." The students gathered around Professor Jordan, as she picked up a spider from a jar on the table. "Firstly I would like to warn you, that this spell is only to save a life, not for messing around with. It is not a toy. This goes without saying, but do not use the killing curse on someone then use the counter curse! Unless of course you want to go straight to Azkaban." She eyes her students. "Are we clear?"

"Yes Professor!" came the chorus of voices.

"Right then. Avada Kedavera!" the spider keeled over. "Solvere Ultimum." The spider sat up and wiggled its legs in the air, flipping over onto its right side and attempting to crawl away.

"Oh no you don't!" she picked it up and stuck it back into the jar. The students were amazed. Especially Harry.

"Why won't it work for more than four minutes after someone dies?" he asked, frowning.

"Because, that's how long it takes for the brain to completely shut down. Now of course if you want to go into muggle science, with drowning victims and frozen bodies and whatnot, I have a few books in my personal library." Jordan glanced pointedly at Hermione.

"Thank you professor! I'd like that!"

"Muggles know nothing!" protested Draco.

"Actually, they have more advanced ways than we do. They use science in the stead of magic, and it works perfectly fine. It might take them a bit longer to do things, but they still get it done. We, for example, know almost nothing about radiation. Muggles do. We know almost nothing about how things work, or survive. Muggles do. They call it science, we call it magic. Sometimes it's the same thing. They have extraordinary ways of saving lives, lives that we would have giving up for dead. This is what I will be teaching you; a combination of magic, non-magic, and other ways of protecting yourselves and those around you."

"I am not telling you to live like a muggle, or think like one, I am telling you to use their knowledge to your advantage. For those of you who are interested, I will be hosting after school discussions and extra practices." A few of the more studious students jumped at the idea, including Neville Longbottom. _Poor kid can use all the help he can get_, thought Dare.

"Now form two lines. You will be practicing the new Counter Curse." As the student got in line, Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, miss Granger?"

"I was just wondering, who came up with the Counter Curse?"

Jordan smiled. "I did. I suppose that is why Professor Dumbledore hired me." The students broke off into excited whispers. "First up!" called the Teacher. "Avada Kedavera!"

"Solvere Ultimum!" Hermione said clearly. The spider popped back into life.

"Solvere Ultimum!" Blaise shouted, his spider unmoving. He tried again, "Solvere Ultimum!" The spider jumped up.

"Good job you two!" congratulated the Professor. "Next! Avada Kedavera!"

"Solvere Ultimum!" Ron and Pansy echoed, their spiders gleefully entering life. Ron looked disgusted, but moved to the back of the line.

"Again!" Jordan motioned for Harry and Draco to step up. They glanced at each other, briefly.

"Solvere Ultimum!" Lucky spiders saved from death. They moved to the back of the line.

"Solvere Ultimum!" Dare was just in time to catch the tail end of the boys' conversation. He and Starlight stood behind them.

"What kind of spell is that?!" Draco commented.

"One that works?" asked Harry, strangely without the hint of sarcasm that usually followed his remarks towards Draco.

"It's nice to know that there is one, for future references." The blonde boy responded, no unveiled threats in his tone.

"What's with those two?" asked Dare.

"Maybe the Inter-House Show is starting to have some good effects on them?" Starlight hinted.

"More likely it's you who've gotten to them." Dare nudged her. Once class was over, the students headed to the Great Hall for lunch. It was a buzz with gossip over the new teacher, and apparently new class standards. "So how'd it go, any problems with the mind bit?"

"Nope, handled like a dream! How'd you like my class?"

"Only you could have pulled it off. Dose the ministry know about that spell?"

"Yeah, actually. They haven't released it to the public because they are afraid that people will go crazy with it, and use Adava all the time. I think that's crazy, but some people probably will, although not the entire population as they seem to think. It's a better deal if the students go home and talk about it, then the press picks it up, and people start gossiping about it then if the ministry just said, here you go, new spell, don't kill people!"

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"I am. That's why I taught it in class! It first years LOVED it."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm hungry!" he proceeded to stuff his face. Starlight rolled her eyes. She glanced over at the golden trio, who were whispering and gesturing in their direction.

"Dare," she nudged him. "They know something's up."

Dare looked over, and saw that the threesome were walking towards them. "Hey guys, can we talk to you?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, sure, but it's going to have to wait until after lunch." Dare said.

"Fair enough, we have a free period after this, is that good?"

"Sure, meet us by that one tree by the lake."

"Right, thanks." They walked away.

"We are so screwed," he muttered to Starlight.

* * *

**Yay! secrets are coming out! New spell! oooooh! Don't worry, there's going to be problems with it later, mostly ministry related. More Awesomeness coming soon! Peace out!****  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guy! So sorry this is so late, but i was busy and stuff, school, family, other ****fanfiction, sleep-**

**Starlight: Okay, i think they get it! Get to the point already!**

**Right, anyway, i made this chapter extra long to compensate so...**

**Starlight: So goodbye!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

"They are so screwed." Ron was uncharacteristically thoughtful. "If Dare knows You-know-who, then why doesn't Starlight do something about it?"

"Maybe he's a secret agent or something, I don't know! In any case, he doesn't have a Dark Mark; at least I don't think so…" Harry thought back to every time he had seen the black haired boy. He had always had his sleeves down and even though they shared a dorm, he'd never had the opportunity to get a good look at his left arm. Then again, he hadn't been trying to see Dare's left arm in the first place.

"He hasn't been trying to hide his arm or anything."

"Yeah, are you sure she actually said… M- Voldemort?" said Hermione, causing Ron to wince. She had taken to Starlight's habit of calling the dark lord Moldy-shorts and only just caught herself.

"Well, it certainly sounded like she was going to say that. I can't think of anyone else whose name starts with Volde…" Harry paused thinking. "Maybe we should ask Dumbledore?"

"That might be a good idea, but he sort of likes Dare and I don't know if he would believe us." Hermione mused. "I still think we should ask them about it, after all it might be a false alarm."

"I guess… do you think their done yet?"

"We could start heading over. Do you think they'll show?"

"This is Starlight we're talking about, when has she never showed up to something? Sometimes it seems like she's in millions of places at once." Ron rolled his eyes.

Harry grinned, he hadn't told them about the new teacher yet. "Could be. How about that new professor then? What do you think of her?"

"A little young to be knowing the subject don't you think?"

"I like her; she has a practical approach as well as a fun one," said Hermione.

"You just like her because she offered extra lessons and books," Ron accused her.

"No! I think she's nice!"

"A little like Starlight don't you think? Maybe their related."

_Closer than you think,_ thought Harry as the trio headed to the lake.

* * *

"Okay, so what are we going to say?" Dare was stressing out in the nearest empty classroom.

"Calm down, Ruin! Jeez! We can handle it! I'm the queen of shady explanations! I'll just say we know someone who reminds us of him! Trust me; they'll believe anything I say!"

"Right, just like I believe you actually know what to do?"

"Okay, fine! I wing it, but in the end, it still amounts to the same thing, problem solved."

"Whatever, just so long as they don't try to kill me or turn me in to the ministry; that is _not_ what I need right now."

"And what _do_ you need right now, to study? You already know everything. What better what to spend your free period then giving awkward explanations?" She grinned at him, but he looked serious.

"Star, give me a break, I've never been in this kind of position before and have no idea how to react. I have to rely on a crazy immortal girl for my survival."

She sobered. "Sorry, I forgot. I'm not used to sharing secrets either so we need to work together. Although in the long run, it doesn't really matter. This world will end and everyone in it will move on. What's a couple of years?"

Dare had never seen her like this before, on top she had on a carefree attitude, but underneath it all, tons of emotions were swirling around threatening to break the surface. The most prominent of these was fear. Blinding, heart stopping terror of being left alone. At the very center of it all was heartbreak. She had been scarred too many time to count, people had left and moved on, going where she could never follow. Friends and enemies alike, family and lovers, random people on the street had all gone. That was why she was so closed up, never getting attached to anyone.

She said that say liked being left alone and for good reason. Dare doubted if her mind could take even one more blow. She had been living on autopilot, never actually seeing where she was, lost in a world of dreams. But now she had come out and was starting to take charge. Dare knew she was fully capable, more so anyone ever existing, but he still wanted to take her into his arms and hold her like a child. But he refrained as she would most likely slap him upside the head.

"Dare? Are you even listening?"

"Yes, you were talking about saying the friend thing or mixing in a little truth."

She eyed him thought fully. "You know, we could always tell them the truth. Not-" she head up a hand to stop his cry of protest. "All of it, but a goodish amount so they'll be more likely to believe us and offer help."

"Do we need their help?"

"Well, it would certainly clear up some of the current situation. Once they get over the shock of whatever it is we decide to tell them, Hermione could help a lot with Ministry related things. She's good with research and lawyer stuff, and made a pretty good case for some hippogriff or something. Too bad she never got to actually use it."

"Okay…"

"And despite Ron's bullheadedness and his stupid prejudices, he can actually bring a certain amount of support from the other pure/half-blood wizards. After all, he does know a thing or two about common everyday things in wizarding life."

"And I don't?"

"Not in this generation," Starlight replied crossing her arms.

"Touché. But Harry hates Voldemort; I _did_ after all, kill his parents AND landed him with those horrible relatives of his."

"Yeah, but the thing about Harry is that he can and does easily forgive people. Even if they ruined, no pun intended, his life."

"Oh ha ha. I suppose he does, and he doesn't really stay mad at people for too long either. He and Ron were fighting over something the other day, and Ron completely turned his back on him, whereas Harry pretty much forgot about it after like five minutes."

"See?! There's nothing to worry about from them. And it also helps that I trust you, and know you, and can vouch for you, and that they've known you even if only for a little while. Dare, you're the kind of person that everyone can never stay mad at even if you did really hurt them."

"Like you?"

"No, it might seem like that, but some people really do hate me, beside that monster thing," she added seeing his pointed looked. "I can really piss people off when I want to and keep it that way. Obviously I don't normally do that, but if you decide to stick around, eventually you'll get an example."

Dare decided to ignore the 'decide to stick around part' and continued on with his protests. "But- Okay fine, maybe they'll forgive me and maybe they'll understand, but who's to say that they won't tell anyone?"

"Trust me, if anyone is good at keeping secrets, its teenagers. They won't spill unless you ask them to. On top of that, they might get some ideas about stuff…"

"Stuff?"

"Well, you know… stuff."

"Okay then, shouldn't we get going then, Oh Mighty Star?"

"Of course, Only Slightly Less Mighty Dare."

He rolled his eyes at her and the two friends headed outside. He saw the golden trio sitting by the tree, talking and stood as they walked over. "Hey, guys. What did you want to talk to us about?"

"Well we…" said Harry. Their confronters looked a bit taken aback at Dare's easy, laid back, unconcerned approach.

"Harry overheard you talking to Starlight this morning before classes. We want to know what's going on!" Ron said bluntly.

"Wait a go Ron! You could've a least let me talk!" scolded Hermione.

"Actually, we guessed that's what it was, and Ron, thanks for bringing it to the point." Starlight smiled at their now confused expressions. "So what questions do you all have so we can get back to doing whatever it is we were doing before you interrupted us?" She looked at Ron expectantly.

"How does Dare know You-know-who? And what's with this teacher thing Harry mentioned? How can you be two places at once? That's impossible! And why-"

"Whoa! Hold on Ron! One question at a time!"

The redhead blushed, as Harry asked, "First of all, I'd like to know about the Voldemort thing. How do you know him?" He addressed Dare with the last sentence.

Dare looked over at Starlight. They had agreed that she would do the talking. She glanced at him her eyes speaking volumes. They mutually decided to tell most of the truth, but Starlight wasn't sure where to start.

"Well… it's a long story."

"We have time."

"No duh! Okay so," she hesitated, thinking of her next words. "First of all let me tell you a little about Voldemort. Everyone here knows that his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle correct?"

"Yeah, that was second year remember?" Harry leaned back against the tree.

"Right, well here something you have to understand. Tom Riddle was possessed."

"What? What you mean?"

"When he was three years old, he was at someone's birthday party and an evil spirit snuck up on him. Ever since then it has been in charge of his actions. He couldn't help doing the things he did, and trust me; he's really sorry and never meant to hurt anyone. He's actually really nice." Starlight waited to see the trio's reaction. Hermione was skeptical, Ron was confounded, and Harry was frowning thoughtfully.

"So you mean…" the green eyed boy said. "That it wasn't really his fault? Any of it?"

"Yup, and trust me, he really wishes he could've done something to stop it, but the spirit had absolute control. The only thing he could control was his thoughts. And those weren't very helpful in terms of saving people."

"Yeah, but why did this spirit want him?" Harry frowned.

"I don't really know, and neither does he for that matter."

"So, you've talked to him? You know where he is?" Ron almost shouted.

"Shut up Ron, and yes I have, in fact," she glanced at Dare who had a faraway look in his eyes. "You all have."

"When?!"

"He doesn't want me to say, or tell you who he is-"

"It's alright Star." Dare's voice was low. "You can tell them."

"You sure?"

Hermione was looking from Dare to Starlight, realization on her face. Her eyes widened. "No! That's not possible! But you're- you're…"

Dare took up her sentence. "My name is Dare Ruin, also known as Tom Riddle and…" he glanced at Starlight. "Moldy-shorts."

"WHAT?!" Ron burst out. "No way! You've have to be like, at least sixy!"

"No, Ron. He's right," said Harry. "I thought he looked familiar, and now I realized that he looks like the Diary Riddle, except younger." His face twisted in confusion, trying to place the open, friendly, _caring_ face of Dare onto Tom Riddle. The features were the same, but he just couldn't imagine the expression on his parent's killer.

"But… how?"

Dare sighed, "Starlight found me and something happened with her magic. I blacked out and woke up to find that I was a kid again, _with hair_." His expression was so comical that the trio couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, the main thing was that the spirit or whatever was gone. Vanished, cast out. For _years_ I had been trying to do that, and in one second it just left. After that, we when to Dumbledore and-"

"Wait, Dumbledore knows?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Why wouldn't he?"

"But, he's the only person you're afraid of! Why would you go to him?"

"Correction, he's the only person that the spirit, who I call Moldy-shorts, is afraid of. Everything you know about me isn't actually me. I'm not like that at all! You've known me for a bit, and know that I'm not! If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do, but please understand that I never _wanted_ to do any of that stuff. There was just nothing I could've done to stop it, and I tried. I really tried." A note of desperation had crept into his voice.

"Please, I'm sorry. I really am. Harry, you think you have nightmares? You think you've seen people you love die? I have to live with the fact that I killed every one of them, that it was _my _fault. I was the one to cast that spell! Every night I have to relive that! You think you know fear? You think you know pain?" He broke off, looking out over the lake, trying to calm himself.

Hermione sat down beside him, and touched his shoulder. "_Dare_," she stressed the name. "I don't know if what you're saying is true, but I believe you anyway. It wasn't your fault so don't beat yourself up about it. You have friends," she looked over at the boys. Ron nodded, still looking skeptical, but fully supporting the boy he knew as Dare.

Harry got up and stood in front of the distressed immortal, "I don't know who you are, but I do know one thing. You are my friend, and if you really are Voldemort, then I can tell you're sorry. I don't know if I can forgive you for that, but I trust Dare. If Dumbledore and Starlight trust you then I can too. It doesn't matter that you where someone else before, the person you are now is the person you are. I just can't imagine you doing anything harmful to someone."

"If Starlight says that you're Voldemort, and still loves you, I can't argue with that. I honestly half believe that you're lying just because I can't see you ever doing something like that." He paused staring at Dare.

"But… I ruined your life! I killed your parents and landed you with the Dursleys!" Dare said, frowning. Starlight nudged him and the I-told-you-so was obvious to everyone there.

"And? As much as I wish I knew them, I still have Sirius and Ron's family as well as Hermione. And you can't possibly forget Starlight, and the rest of my friends. I have tons of people who care about me, even if sometimes life is rough. You're right, I don't know pain like you do, and that's why we don't just dump people out of our lives. You have no one- _had_ no one. Now you have us. You can be damned sure that we're not going to hate you."

The relief was evident on convicted boy's face. "Thanks. And… well, you guys are the only people I've ever called friends. Thanks for that."

"No problem, so let me get this straight. You were Tom Riddle then Voldemort and now you're Dare?"

"Yeah, it's complicated."

"So… do I still… I mean, am I still going to get weird dreams about you?"

Dare did a double take. "Dreams about? You were dreaming about me?"

"Yeah…"

"Creepy!"

"I know! And whenever I did, my scar started hurting."

"Huh?" Harry parted his bangs as explanation and Dare stared at his scar. He whispered something to Starlight and she nodded, causing Dare to whistle.

"What?" Harry demanded.

"That scar, I only just noticed, but… it was a Horcrux."

Even Hermione looked confused at this remark. "What's a Horcrux?" the trio asked together.

Dare glanced at Starlight, who grinned and folded her arms, waiting for his explanation. "Well, it's… a part of someone's soul that had been split and put into something else."

"But, that's not possible is it?" asked Hermione.

"It is, but only if the person doing the splitting murders someone. It's possibly the darkest form on dark art ever invented. Voldemort," no one even noticed the third person use, to them he was simply Dare, "made seven of them. He was about as close to immortal as you can get. The only way to kill him was to get rid of them first."

"What happened to them?" asked Ron in a whisper.

"The stopped existing after the monster left. They came back and formed a whole again. That's why I… well, yeah you know," he ended lamely.

"So you're saying that Harry was a Horcrux?!"

"Unintentional! I did even know until now!" He defended. "But luckily for Harry, Moldy-shorts is gone and he's now friends with possibly the most insane terrorist the wizarding world has ever known."

"Reformed, unwilling, insane terrorist, but yeah," Starlight added. "So… what do we do now?"

"Hey! You never answered the teacher question!" Ron suddenly perked up.

"Oh yeah! Well, as of yesterday, I am your new Defense Professor. Except, no one is supposed to know that; there for, the Holo-me's.

"Hola-me's?"

"_Holo-_me's. I've come up with a way to put various personalities into a hologram that can touch things."

"Wow! That technology is so far in the future that it's impossible right now!" Hermione said, awed.

"Correction, magic not technology."

"What are Holow-whatsits?!" burst out Ron, completely lost.

"Holograms are a muggle form of technology. They're pretty much an illusion and aren't really there. That's the difference between mine. Mine can actually pick things up, but things can still pass through them, like weapons or spells." The red haired immortal explained.

"Cool!" Harry and Hermione exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah sure." Ron agreed. Dare shook his head, _these wizards and their ignorance of perfectly good information._

Starlight smiled, "Yup, you said it Ron. Anyway, I have multiple ones running around doing stuff for me. I used to use regular holograms to do stuff, but for some reason they stopped working, probably all the magic around here. Muggle stuff isn't supposed to work here, but with a little tweaking I can get it to function."

"Sweet!" commented Harry.

"Yup, anyway, I have smarty-me grading all the papers, boring-me coming up with the lesson plans, and lazy-me making the room of requirement ready for the next day."

"What about… Jordan? What _me_ is she?"

Dare cut in saying, "She won't tell me if Starlight or Jordan is the Holo-me."

"Yup, I'm taking a vote on who thinks which me is the real one. Any guesses?"

"Um… Starlight?" said Ron.

"Jordan?" Hermione guessed.

Harry shrugged saying, "I don't know, both?"

Starlight looked expectantly at Dare. "Fine!" he growled. "Starlight?"

"Okay, you're all wrong!" She grinned.

"What? No fair! Which one are you?"

"All of them." Starlight stated calmly. "They all send first person views of what's happening to me, _me_ being who ever I feel like at the moment. Currently I'm here talking to you peeps!"

"That actually kind of makes sense in a weird way," said Hermione.

"Yup, it does if you think about. Anyway," she looked at her magical watch, which was charmed to tell when and what the next thing on her schedule was. "We should be heading to class. I've got Binns the boring, what you all got?"

"Same," said Ron looking crestfallen.

"Oh well, at least we can all see each other in our dreams."

"While I'll be taking note you mean?" said Hermione.

"Exactly! And if you've noticed, he quotes the book word for word. You can just go and takes note from there. You don't actually have to stay awake in his class."

"He's horrible! I suppose he hasn't changed?" Dare said, sighing.

"Nope, still the same old droning voice that fades away into sleep." Starlight grinned. "But, if you actually get him talking in and interesting subject, as impossible as that sounds, his class can be just as good as mine- excuse me, _Professor Jordan's_ class."

"Really?"

"Yeah, would you like a demonstration?"

"Duh! Let's go!" shouted Ron, racing for the castle.

"Never thought I'd see anyone exited for Binns' class." Remarked Starlight as they hurried to catch up.

* * *

**Yay! Binns' class and Ron and secrets and I really need to update don't i? Anyway, more Awesomeness on the way as usual, and Hopefully i can get in more ****juicy details about unexplained things... there's a lot of those... Peace!**


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